More Letters of Charles Darwin: A Record of His Work in a Series of Hitherto Unpublished Letters, Volume 2 |
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A. R. Wallace Acropera Agassiz America animals anthers appears Asa Gray believe birds cleavage colour continent crossing curious Darwin Descent dimorphic discussion doubt Drosera edition elevation experiments facts feel female fertilisation Fertilisation of Orchids Flora flowers Fritz Müller Gardeners Geol Geological give Glacial period glaciers Glen Roy Heterocentron hope indusium insects interesting islands J. D. Hooker Jenner Weir Journ Journal kind labellum leaves Letter Linn London look Lyell male March mountains movement Müller Natural never obliged observations occurred orchids Origin ovules paper peloric pistil plants pollen pollen-tubes pollinia Primula probably Prof protection published reefs refers remarks remember Scott seeds seems self-fertilisation sent sexes sexual selection Society species stamens stigma subsidence suppose sure tell thank theory thought Trans valleys volcanic Wallace's wish worth write wrote
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Page 118 - Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands visited during the Voyage of HMS Beagle; together with some brief Notices on the Geology of Australia and the Cape of Good Hope; being the second part of the Geology of the Voyage of the Beagle.
Page 35 - The great leading idea is quite new to me, viz. that during late ages, the mind will have been modified more than the body ; yet I had got as far as to see with you that the struggle between the races of man depended entirely on intellectual and moral qualities.
Page 42 - Natural selection could only have endowed the savage with a brain a little superior to that of an ape, whereas he actually possesses one but very little inferior to that of the average members of our learned societies.
Page 119 - I always feel as if my books came half out of Lyell's brain, and that I never acknowledge this sufficiently; nor do I know how I can without saying so in so many words — for I have always thought that the great merit of the "Principles" was that it altered the whole tone of one's mind, and therefore that, when seeing a thing never seen by Lyell, one yet saw it partially through his eyes...
Page 38 - I shall always maintain it to be actually yours and yours only. You had worked it out in details I had never thought of, years before I had a ray of light on the subject, and my paper would never have convinced anybody or been noticed as more than an ingenious speculation, whereas your book has revolutionised the study of Natural History, and carried away captive the best men of the present age.
Page 43 - I do not think I ever in all my life read anything more interesting and original — and how well and clearly you put every point!
Page 7 - Biology takes her time from geology. The only reason we have for believing in the slow rate of the change in living forms is the fact that they persist through a series of deposits which, geology informs us, have taken a long while to make. If the geological clock is wrong, all the naturalist will have to do is to modify his notions of the rapidity of change accordingly.
Page 56 - ... from a very large number of observations, systematically made, would probably throw much light on the sequence and period of development of the several faculties. This knowledge would probably give a foundation for some improvement in our education of young children, and would show us whether the same system ought to be followed in all cases. I will venture to specify a few points of inquiry which, as it seems to me, possess some scientific interest.
Page 76 - ... immunity from danger. For my part, I should say that the female alone had happened to vary in the right manner, and that the beneficial variations had been transmitted to the same sex alone. Believing in this, I can see no improbability (but from analogy of domestic animals a strong probability...
Page 231 - In a word, the movement of the inorganic world is obvious and palpable, and might be likened to the minute-hand of a clock, the progress of which can be seen and heard, whereas the fluctuations of the living creation are nearly invisible, and resemble the motion of the hour-hand of a timepiece. It is only by watching it attentively for some time, and comparing its relative position after an interval, that we can prove the reality of its motion.