WhatyoutellmeafterspeakingwithBuskaboutthelengthoftheAbstractisanIMMENSErelieftome;itwillmakethelabourfarless，nothavingtoshortensomucheverysinglesubject;butIwilltrynottobetoodiffusive。Ifearitwillspoilallinterestinmybook（Thelargerbookbegunin1856。），wheneverpublished。TheAbstractwilldoverywelltodivideintoseveralparts:thusIhavejustfinished"VariationunderDomestication，"inforty—fourMS。pages，andthatwoulddoforoneevening;
butIshouldbeextremelysorryifallcouldnotbepublishedtogether。
WhatelseyousayaboutmyAbstractpleasesmehighly，butfrightensme，forIfearIshallneverbeabletomakeitgoodenough。ButhowIdorunonaboutmyownaffairstoyou！
IwasastonishedtoseeSirW。Hooker’scardheretwoorthreedaysago:I
wasunfortunatelyoutwalking。Henslow，also，haswrittentome，proposingtocometoDownonthe9th，butalas，Idonotreturntillthe13th，andmywifenottillaweeklater;sothatIamalsomostsorrytothinkIshallnotseeyou，forIshouldnotliketoleavehomesosoon。IhadthoughtofgoingtoLondonandrunningdownforanhourortwotoKew……
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
NorfolkHouse，Shanklin，IsleofWight，[August][1858]。
MydearHooker，IwritemerelytosaythattheMS。camesafelytwoorthreedaysago。Iammuchobligedforthecorrectionofstyle:Ifinditunutterablydifficulttowriteclearly。WhenwemeetImusttalkoverafewpointsonthesubject。
Youspeakofgoingtothesea—sidesomewhere;wethinkthisthenicestseasideplacewhichwehaveeverseen，andwelikeShanklinbetterthanotherspotsonthesouthcoastoftheisland，thoughmanyarecharmingandprettier，sothatIwouldsuggestyourthinkingofthisplace。Weareontheactualcoast;buttastesdiffersomuchaboutplaces。
IfyougotoBroadstairs，whenthereisastrongwindfromthecoastofFranceandinfine，dry，warmweather，lookout，andyouwillPROBABLY（！）
seethistle—seedsblownacrosstheChannel。TheotherdayIsawoneblownrightinland，andtheninafewminutesasecondoneandthenathird;andIsaidtomyself，Godblessme，howmanythistlestheremustbeinFrance;
andIwrotealetterinimaginationtoyou。ButIthenlookedattheLOW
clouds，andnoticedthattheywerenotcominginland，soIfearedascrewwasloose。Ithenwalkedbeyondaheadland，andfoundthewindparalleltothecoast，andonthisveryheadlandanoblebedofthistles，whichbyeverywideeddywereblownfarouttosea，andthencamerightinatrightanglestotheshore！Onedaysuchanumberofinsectswerewashedupbythetide，andIbroughttolifethirteenspeciesofColeoptera;notthatI
supposethesecamefromFrance。Butdoyouwatchforthistle—seedasyousaunteralongthecoast……
CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。
August11th[1858]。
MydearGray，YournoteofJuly27thhasjustreachedmeintheIsleofWight。Itisarealandgreatpleasuretometowritetoyouaboutmynotions;andevenifitwerenotso，Ishouldbeamostungratefuldog，afteralltheinvaluableassistanceyouhaverenderedme，ifIdidnotdoanythingwhichyouasked。
IhavediscussedinmylongMS。thelaterchangesofclimateandtheeffectonmigration，andIwillheregiveyouanABSTRACTofanABSTRACT（whichlatterIampreparingofmywholeworkfortheLinneanSociety）。Icannotgiveyoufacts，andImustwritedogmatically，thoughIdonotfeelsoonanypoint。Imayjustmention，inorderthatyoumaybelievethatIhaveSOMEfoundationformyviews，thatHookerhasreadmyMS。，andthoughheatfirstdemurredtomymainpoint，hehassincetoldmethatfurtherreflectionandnewfactshavemadehimaconvert。
Intheolder，orperhapsnewer，Plioceneage（alittleBEFOREtheGlacialepoch）thetemperaturewashigher;ofthistherecanbelittledoubt;theland，onaLARGESCALE，heldmuchitspresentdisposition:thespeciesweremainly，judgingfromshells，whattheyarenow。Atthisperiodwhenallanimalsandplantsranged10or15degreesnearerthepoles，IbelievethenorthernpartofSiberiaandofNorthAmericabeingalmostCONTINUOUS，werepeopled（itisquitepossible，consideringtheshallowwater，thatBehringStraitswereunited，perhapsalittlesouthward）byanearlyuniformfaunaandflora，justastheArcticregionsnoware。Theclimatethenbecamegraduallycoldertillitbecamewhatitnowis;andthenthetemperatepartsofEuropeandAmericawouldbeseparated，asfarasmigrationisconcerned，justastheynoware。ThencameontheGlacialperiod，drivingfarsouthalllivingthings;middleorevensouthernEuropebeingpeopledwithArcticproductions;asthewarmthreturned，theArcticproductionsslowlycrawledupthemountainsastheybecamedenudedofsnow;
andwenowseeontheirsummitstheremnantsofaoncecontinuousfloraandfauna。ThisisE。Forbes’theory，which，however，Imayadd，Ihadwrittenoutfouryearsbeforehepublished。
SomefactshavemademevaguelySUSPECTthatbetweentheglacialandthepresenttemperaturetherewasaperiodofSLIGHTLYgreaterwarmth。
Accordingtomymodification—doctrines，IlookatmanyofthespeciesofNorthAmericawhichCLOSELYrepresentthoseofEurope，ashavingbecomemodifiedsincethePlioceneperiod，wheninthenorthernpartoftheworldtherewasnearlyfreecommunicationbetweentheoldandnewworlds。Butnowcomesamoreimportantconsideration;thereisaconsiderablebodyofgeologicalevidencethatduringtheGlacialepochthewholeworldwascolder;Iinferredthat，manyyearsago，fromerraticboulderphenomenacarefullyobservedbymeonboththeeastandwestcoastofSouthAmerica。
NowIamsoboldastobelievethatattheheightoftheGlacialepoch，AND
WHENALLTROPICALPRODUCTIONSMUSTHAVEBEENCONSIDERABLYDISTRESSED，thatseveraltemperateformsslowlytravelledintotheheartoftheTropics，andevenreachedthesouthernhemisphere;andsomefewsouthernformspenetratedinareversedirectionnorthward。（HeightsofBorneowithAustralianforms，AbyssiniawithCapeforms。）WherevertherewasnearlycontinuousHIGHland，thismigrationwouldhavebeenimmenselyfacilitated;
hencetheEuropeancharacteroftheplantsofTierradelFuegoandsummitsofCordilleras;hencedittoonHimalaya。Asthetemperaturerose，allthetemperateintruderswouldcrawlupthemountains。HencetheEuropeanformsonNilgherries，Ceylon，summitofJava，OrganMountainsofBrazil。Buttheseintrudersbeingsurroundedwithnewformswouldbeveryliabletobeimprovedormodifiedbynaturalselection，toadaptthemtothenewformswithwhichtheyhadtocompete;hencemostoftheformsonthemountainsoftheTropicsarenotidentical，butREPRESENTATIVEformsofNorthtemperateplants。
Therearesimilarclassesoffactsinmarineproductions。Allthiswillappearveryrashtoyou，andrashitmaybe;butIamsurenotsorashasitwillatfirstappeartoyou:Hookercouldnotstomachitatallatfirst，buthasbecomelargelyaconvert。Frommammaliaandshallowsea，I
believeJapantohavebeenjoinedtomainlandofChinawithinnoremoteperiod;andthenthemigrationnorthandsouthbefore，during，andaftertheGlacialepochwouldactonJapan，asonthecorrespondinglatitudeofChinaandtheUnitedStates。
IshouldbeyondanythingliketoknowwhetheryouhaveanyAlpinecollectionsfromJapan，andwhatistheircharacter。Thisletterismiserablyexpressed，butperhapsitwillsufficetoshowwhatIbelievehavebeenthelatermainmigrationsandchangesoftemperature……
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
[Down]October6th，1858……Ifyouhaveorcanmakeleisure，IshouldverymuchliketohearnewsofMrs。Hooker，yourself，andthechildren。Wheredidyougo，andwhatdidyoudoandaredoing？Thereisacomprehensivetext。
YoucannottellhowIenjoyedyourlittlevisithere，itdidmemuchgood。
IfHarveyisstillwithyou，prayremembermeverykindlytohim……IamworkingmoststeadilyatmyAbstract，butitgrowstoaninordinatelength;yetfullytomakemyviewclear（andnevergivingbrieflymorethanafactortwo，andslurringoverdifficulties），Icannotmakeitshorter。
Itwillyettakemethreeorfourmonths;soslowdoIwork，thoughneveridle。YoucannotimaginewhataserviceyouhavedonemeinmakingmemakethisAbstract;forthoughIthoughtIhadgotallclear，ithasclarifiedmybrainsverymuch，bymakingmeweightherelativeimportanceoftheseveralelements。
Ihavebeenreadingwithmuchinterestyour（asIbelieveittobe）capitalmemoirofR。Browninthe"Gardeners’Chronicle"……
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，October12th，[1858]……Ihavesenteightcopies（OfthejointpaperbyC。DarwinandA。R。
Wallace。）byposttoWallace，andwillkeeptheothersforhim，forIcouldnotthinkofanyonetosendanyto。
IprayyounottopronouncetoostronglyagainstNaturalSelection，tillyouhavereadmyabstract，forthoughIdaresayyouwillstrikeoutMANY
difficulties，whichhaveneveroccurredtome;yetyoucannothavethoughtsofullyonthesubjectasIhave。
IexpectmyAbstractwillrunintoasmallvolume，whichwillhavetobepublishedseparately……
Whatasplendidlotofworkyouhaveinhand。
Everyours，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，October13th[1858]……Ihavebeenalittlevexedatmyselfathavingaskedyounot"topronouncetoostronglyagainstNaturalSelection。"Iamsorrytohavebotheredyou，thoughIhavebeenmuchinterestedbyyournoteinanswer。I
wrotethesentencewithoutreflection。Butthetruthis，thatIhavesoaccustomedmyself，partlyfrombeingquizzedbymynon—naturalistrelations，toexpectoppositionandevencontempt，thatIforgotforthemomentthatyouaretheonelivingsoulfromwhomIhaveconstantlyreceivedsympathy。Believe[me]thatIneverforgetforevenaminutehowmuchassistanceIhavereceivedfromyou。YouarequitecorrectthatI
neverevensuspectedthatmyspeculationswerea"jam—pot"toyou;indeed，Ithought，untilquitelately，thatmyMS。hadproducednoeffectonyou，andthishasoftenstaggeredme。NordidIknowthatyouhadspokeningeneraltermsaboutmyworktoourfriends，exceptingtodearoldFalconer，whosomefewyearsagooncetoldmethatIshoulddomoremischiefthananytenothernaturalistswoulddogood，[and]thatIhadhalfspoiledyoualready！Allthisisstupidegotisticalstuff，andIwriteitonlybecauseyoumaythinkmeungratefulfornothavingvaluedandunderstoodyoursympathy;whichGodknowsisnotthecase。ItisanaccursedeviltoamantobecomesoabsorbedinanysubjectasIaminmine。
IwasinLondonyesterdayforafewhourswithFalconer，andhegavemeamagnificentlectureontheageofman。Wearenotupstarts;wecanboastofapedigreegoingfarbackintimecoevalwithextinctspecies。HehasagrandfactofsomelargemolartoothintheTrias。
Iamquiteknockedup，andamgoingnextMondaytoreviveunderWater—cureatMoorPark。
MydearHooker，yoursaffectionately，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
November1858……IhadvowednottomentionmyeverlastingAbstracttoyouagain，forI
amsureIhavebotheredyoufarmorethanenoughaboutit;but，asyoualludetoitspreviouspublication，ImaysaythatIhavethechaptersonInstinctandHybridismtoabstract，whichmaytakeafortnighteach;andmymaterialsforPalaeontology，GeographicalDistribution，andAffinities，beinglessworkedup，Idaresayeachofthesewilltakemethreeweeks，sothatIshallnothavedoneatsoonesttillApril，andthenmyAbstractwillinbulkmakeasmallvolume。Inevergivemorethanoneortwoinstances，andIpassoverbrieflyalldifficulties，andyetIcannotmakemyAbstractshorter，tobesatisfactory，thanIamnowdoing，andyetitwillexpandtoasmallvolume……
[Aboutthistimemyfatherrevivedhisoldknowledgeofbeetlesinhelpinghisboysintheircollecting。Hesentashortnoticetothe’Entomologist’sWeeklyIntelligencer，’June25th，1859，recordingthecaptureofLicinussilphoides，Clytusmysticus，Panagaeus4—pustulatus。
Thenoticebeginswiththewords，"WethreeveryyoungcollectorshavinglatelytakenintheparishofDown，"etc。，andissignedbythreeofhisboys，butwasclearlynotwrittenbythem。Ihaveavividrecollectionofthepleasureofturningoutmybottleofdeadbeetlesformyfathertoname，andtheexcitement，inwhichhefullyshared，whenanyofthemprovedtobeuncommonones。ThefollowingletterstoMr。Fox（November13，1858），andtoSirJohnLubbock，illustratethispoint:]
CHARLESDARWINTOW。D。FOX。
Down，November13th[1858]……W。，myson，isnowatChrist’sCollege，intheroomsaboveyours。MyoldGyp，Impey，wasastoundedtohearthathewasmyson，andverysimplyasked，"Why，hashebeenlongmarried？"WhatpleasanthoursthosewerewhenIusedtocomeanddrinkcoffeewithyoudaily！Iamremindedofolddaysbymythirdboyhavingjustbeguncollectingbeetles，andhecaughttheotherdayBrachinuscrepitans，ofimmortalWhittleseaMerememory。MybloodboiledwitholdardourwhenhecaughtaLicinus——aprizeunknowntome……
CHARLESDARWINTOJOHNLUBBOCK。
Thursday[before1857]。
DearLubbock，Idonotknowwhetheryoucareaboutbeetles，butforthechanceIsendthisinabottle，whichIneverrememberhavingseen;thoughitisexcessivelyrashtospeakfromatwenty—five—yearoldremembrance。
Wheneverwemeetyoucantellmewhetheryouknowit……
Ifeellikeanoldwar—horseatthesoundofthetrumpet，whenIreadaboutthecapturingofrarebeetles——isnotthisamagnanimoussimileforadecayedentomologist？——Itreallyalmostmakesmelongtobegincollectingagain。Adios。
"FloreatEntomologia"！——towhichtoastatCambridgeIhavedrunkmanyaglassofwine。Soagain，"FloreatEntomologia。"N。B。IhaveNOTnowbeendrinkinganyglassesfullofwine。
Yours，C。D。
CHARLESDARWINTOHERBERTSPENCER。
Down，November25th[1858]。
DearSir，IbegpermissiontothankyousincerelyforyourverykindpresentofyourEssays。（’Essays，Scientific，Political，andSpeculative，’byHerbertSpencer，1858—74。）Ihavealreadyreadseveralofthemwithmuchinterest。
Yourremarksonthegeneralargumentoftheso—calleddevelopmenttheoryseemstomeadmirable。IamatpresentpreparinganAbstractofalargerworkonthechangesofspecies;butItreatthesubjectsimplyasanaturalist，andnotfromageneralpointofview，otherwise，inmyopinion，yourargumentcouldnothavebeenimprovedon，andmighthavebeenquotedbymewithgreatadvantage。YourarticleonMusichasalsointerestedmemuch，forIhadoftenthoughtonthesubject，andhadcometonearlythesameconclusionwithyou，thoughunabletosupportthenotioninanydetail。Furthermore，byacuriouscoincidence，expressionhasbeenforyearsapersistentsubjectwithmeforLOOSEspeculation，andImustentirelyagreewithyouthatallexpressionhassomebiologicalmeaning。I
hopetoprofitbyyourcriticismonstyle，andwithverybestthanks，Ibegleavetoremain，dearSir，Yourstrulyobliged，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，December24th[1858]。
MydearHooker，Yournewsaboutyourunsolicitedsalaryandhouseisjolly，andcreditabletotheGovernment。Myroom（28x19），withdividedroomabove，withALL
FIXTURES（andpainted），notfurniture，andplasteredoutside，costabout500pounds。Iamheartilygladofthisnews。
Yourfactsaboutdistributionare，indeed，verystriking。Irememberwellthatnoneofyourmanywonderfulfactsinyourseveralworks，perplexedme，foryears，morethanthemigrationhavingbeenmainlyfromnorthtosouth，andnotinthereversedirection。IhavenowatlastsatisfiedMYSELF（butthatisverydifferentfromsatisfyingothers）onthishead;butitwouldtakealittlevolumetofullyexplainmyself。Ididnotforlongseethebearingofaconclusion，atwhichIhadarrived，withrespecttothissubject。Itis，thatspeciesinhabitingaverylargearea，andthereforeexistinginlargenumbers，andwhichhavebeensubjectedtotheseverestcompetitionwithmanyotherforms，willhavearrived，throughnaturalselection，atahigherstageofperfectionthantheinhabitantsofasmallarea。ThusIexplainthefactofsomanyanomalies，orwhatmaybecalled"livingfossils，"inhabitingnowonlyfreshwater，havingbeenbeatenout，andexterminatedinthesea，bymoreimprovedforms;thusallexistingGanoidfishesarefreshwater，as[are]LepidosirenandOrnithorhynchus，etc。TheplantsofEuropeandAsia，asbeingthelargestterritory，Ilookatasthemost"improved，"andthereforeasbeingabletowithstandtheless—perfectedAustralianplants;[whilst]thesecouldnotresisttheIndian。SeehowalltheproductionsofNewZealandyieldtothoseofEurope。Idaresayyouwillthinkallthisutterbosh，butIbelieveittobesolidtruth。
Youwill，Ithink，admitthatAustralianplants，flourishingsoinIndia，isnoargumentthattheycouldholdtheirownagainstthetenthousandnaturalcontingenciesofotherplants，insects，animals，etc。，etc。WithrespecttoSouthWestAustraliaandtheCape，Iamshutup，andcanonlyd——nthewholecase……YousayyoushouldliketoseemyMS。，butyoudidreadandapproveofmylongGlacialchapter，andIhavenotyetwrittenmyAbstractonthewholeoftheGeographicalDistribution，norshallIbeginitfortwoorthreeweeks。ButeitherAbstractortheoldMS。IshouldbeDELIGHTEDtosendyou，especiallytheAbstractchapter……
Ihavenowwritten330foliopagesofmyabstract，anditwillrequire150—
200[more];sothatitwillmakeaprintedvolumeof400pages，andmustbeprintedseparately，whichIthinkwillbebetterinmanyrespects。ThesubjectreallyseemstometoolargefordiscussionatanySociety，andI
believereligionwouldbebroughtinbymenwhomIknow。
Iamthinkingofa12movolume，likeLyell’sfourthorfiftheditionofthe’Principles。’……
Ihavewrittenyouascandalouslylongnote。Sonowgood—bye，mydearHooker，Everyours，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，January20th，1859。
MydearHooker，IshouldverymuchliketoborrowHeeratsomefuturetime，forIwanttoreadnothingperplexingatpresenttillmyAbstractisdone。Yourlastveryinstructivelettershallmakemeverycautiousonthehyper—
speculativepointswehavebeendiscussing。
Whenyousayyoucannotmasterthetrainofthoughts，Iknowwellenoughthattheyaretoodoubtfulandobscuretobemastered。Ihaveoftenexperiencedwhatyoucallthehumiliatingfeelingofgettingmoreandmoreinvolvedindoubtthemoreonethinksofthefactsandreasoningondoubtfulpoints。ButIalwayscomfortmyselfwiththinkingofthefuture，andinthefullbeliefthattheproblemswhichwearejustenteringon，willsomedaybesolved;andifwejustbreakthegroundweshallhavedonesomeservice，evenifwereapnoharvest。
IquiteagreethatweonlydifferinDEGREEaboutthemeansofdispersal，andthatIthinkasatisfactoryamountofaccordance。Youputinaverystrikingmannerthemutationofourcontinents，andIquiteagree;Idoubtonlyaboutouroceans。
Ialsoagree（Iaminaveryagreeingframeofmind）withyourargumentumadhominem，aboutthehighnessoftheAustralianFlorafromthenumberofspeciesandgenera;butherecomesinasuperlativebotheringelementofdoubt，viz。，theeffectofisolation。
TheonlypointinwhichIPRESUMPTUOUSLYratherdemurisaboutthestatusofthenaturalisedplantsinAustralia。IthinkMullerspeaksoftheirhavingspreadlargelybeyondcultivatedground;andIcanhardlybelievethatourEuropeanplantswouldoccupystationssobarrenthatthenativeplantscouldnotlivethere。Ishouldrequiremuchevidencetomakemebelievethis。Ihavewrittenthisnotemerelytothankyou，asyouwillseeitrequiresnoanswer。
IhaveheardtomyamazementthismorningfromPhillipsthattheGeologicalCouncilhavegivenmetheWollastonMedal！！！
Everyours，CHARLESDARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，January23d，1859……IencloseletterstoyouandmefromWallace。Iadmireextremelythespiritinwhichtheyarewritten。Ineverfeltverysurewhathewouldsay。Hemustbeanamiableman。Pleasereturnthattome，andLyelloughttobetoldhowwellsatisfiedheis。TheselettershavevividlybroughtbeforemehowmuchIowetoyourandLyell’smostkindandgenerousconductinallthisaffair……HowgladIshallbewhentheAbstractisfinished，andIcanrest！……
CHARLESDARWINTOA。R。WALLACE。
Down，January25th[1859]。
MydearSir，IwasextremelymuchpleasedatreceivingthreedaysagoyourlettertomeandthattoDr。Hooker。PermitmetosayhowheartilyIadmirethespiritinwhichtheyarewritten。ThoughIhadabsolutelynothingwhatevertodoinleadingLyellandHookertowhattheythoughtafaircourseofaction，yetInaturallycouldnotbutfeelanxioustohearwhatyourimpressionwouldbe。Ioweindirectlymuchtoyouandthem;forIalmostthinkthatLyellwouldhaveprovedright，andIshouldneverhavecompletedmylargerwork，forIhavefoundmyAbstracthardenoughwithmypoorhealth，butnow，thankGod，Iaminmylastchapterbutone。MyAbstractwillmakeasmallvolumeof400or500pages。Wheneverpublished，Iwill，ofcourse，sendyouacopy，andthenyouwillseewhatImeanaboutthepartwhichI
believeselectionhasplayedwithdomesticproductions。Itisaverydifferentpart，asyousuppose，fromthatplayedby"NaturalSelection。"I
sentoff，bythesameaddressasthisnote，acopyofthe’JournaloftheLinneanSociety，’andsubsequentlyIhavesentsomehalf—dozencopiesofthepaper。Ihavemanyothercopiesatyourdisposal……
Iamgladtohearthatyouhavebeenattendingtobirds’nests。Ihavedoneso，thoughalmostexclusivelyunderonepointofview，viz。，toshowthatinstinctsvary，sothatselectioncouldworkonandimprovethem。Fewotherinstincts，sotospeak，canbepreservedinaMuseum。
Manythanksforyouroffertolookafterhorses’stripes;Ifthereareanydonkeys，prayaddthem。Iamdelightedtohearthatyouhavecollectedbees’combs……Thisisanespecialhobbyofmine，andIthinkIcanthrowalightonthesubject。Ifyoucancollectduplicates，atnoverygreatexpense，Ishouldbegladofsomespecimensformyselfwithsomebeesofeachkind。Young，growing，andirregularcombs，andthosewhichhavenothadpupae，aremostvaluableformeasurementsandexamination。Theiredgesshouldbewellprotectedagainstabrasion。
EveryonewhomIhaveseenhasthoughtyourpaperverywellwrittenandinteresting。Itputsmyextracts（writtenin1839，nowjusttwentyyearsago！），whichImustsayinapologywereneverforaninstantintendedforpublication，intotheshade。
YouaskaboutLyell’sframeofmind。Ithinkheissomewhatstaggered，butdoesnotgivein，andspeakswithhorror，oftentome，ofwhatathingitwouldbe，andwhatajobitwouldbeforthenexteditionof’ThePrinciples，’ifhewere"PERverted。"Butheismostcandidandhonest，andIthinkwillendbybeingPERverted。Dr。HookerhasbecomealmostasheterodoxasyouorI，andIlookatHookerasBYFARthemostcapablejudgeinEurope。
MostcordiallydoIwishyouhealthandentiresuccessinallyourpursuits，and，Godknows，ifadmirablezealandenergydeservesuccess，mostamplydoyoudeserveit。Ilookatmyowncareerasnearlyrunout。
IfIcanpublishmyAbstractandperhapsmygreaterworkonthesamesubject，Ishalllookatmycourseasdone。
Believeme，mydearsir，yoursverysincerely，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，March2nd[1859]。
MydearHooker，Hereisanodd，thoughverylittle，fact。IthinkitwouldbehardlypossibletonameabirdwhichapparentlycouldhavelesstodowithdistributionthanaPetrel。SirW。Milner，atSt。Kilda，cutopensomeyoungnestlingPetrels，andhefoundlarge，curiousnutsintheircrops;I
suspectpickedupbyparentbirdsfromtheGulfstream。Heseemstovaluethesenutsexcessively。Ihaveaskedhim（butIdoubtwhetherhewill）tosendanuttoSirWilliamHooker（Igavethisaddressforgrandeursake）toseeifanyofyoucannameitanditsnativecountry。WillyouPLEASE
MENTIONthistoSirWilliamHooker，andifthenutdoesarrive，willyouobligemebyreturningitto"SirW。Milner，Bart。，Nunappleton，Tadcaster，"inaregisteredletter，andIwillrepayyoupostage。Encloseslipofpaperwiththenameandcountryifyoucan，andletmehereafterknow。Forgivemeaskingyoutotakethismuchtrouble;foritisafunnylittlefactaftermyownheart。
Nowforanothersubject。IhavefinishedmyAbstractofthechapteronGeographicalDistribution，asbearingonmysubject。Ishouldlikeyoumuchtoreadit;butIsaythis，believingthatyouwillnotdoso，if，asIbelievetobethecase，youareextrabusy。Onmyhonour，Ishallnotbemortified，andIearnestlybegyounottodoit，ifitwillbotheryou。I
wantit，becauseIherefeelespeciallyunsafe，anderrorsmayhavecreptin。Also，IshouldmuchliketoknowwhatpartsyouwillMOSTVEHEMENTLY
objectto。Iknowwedo，andmust，differwidelyonseveralheads。
Lastly，IshouldlikeparticularlytoknowwhetherIhavetakenanythingfromyou，whichyouwouldliketoretainforfirstpublication;butIthinkIhavechieflytakenfromyourpublishedworks，and，thoughIhaveseveraltimes，inthischapterandelsewhere，acknowledgedyourassistance，IamawarethatitisnotpossibleformeintheAbstracttodoitsufficiently。
（"Ineverdidpickanyone’spocket，butwhilstwritingmypresentchapterIkeeponfeeling（evenwhendifferingmostfromyou）justasifIwerestealingfromyou，somuchdoIowetoyourwritingsandconversation，somuchmorethanmereacknowledgmentsshow。"——LettertoSirJ。D。Hooker，1859。）Butagainletmesaythatyoumustnotoffertoreaditifveryirksome。Itislong——aboutninetypages，Iexpect，whenfullycopiedout。
Ihopeyouareallwell。MoorParkhasdonemesomegood。
Yoursaffectionately，C。DARWIN。
P。S。——Heavenforgiveme，hereisanotherquestion:HowfaramIrightinsupposingthatwithplants，themostimportantcharactersformaindivisionsareEmbryological？Theseeditselfcannotbeconsideredassuch，Isuppose，northealbumens，etc。ButIsupposetheCotyledonsandtheirposition，andthepositionoftheplumuleandtheradicle，andthepositionandformofthewholeembryointheseedareembryological，andhowfararetheseveryimportant？Iwishtoinstanceplantsasacaseofhighimportanceofembryologicalcharactersinclassification。IntheAnimalKingdomthereis，ofcourse，nodoubtofthis。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，March5th[1859]。
MydearHooker，Manythanksabouttheseed……itiscurious。PetrelsatSt。KildaapparentlybeingfedbyseedsraisedintheWestIndies。ItshouldbenotedwhetheritisanuteverimportedintoEngland。IamVERYgladyouwillreadmyGeographicalMS。;itisnowcopying，anditwill（Ipresume）
taketendaysorsoinbeingfinished;itshallbesentassoonasdone……
Ishallbeverygladtoseeyourembryologicalideasonplants;bythesentencewhichIsentyou，youwillseethatIonlywantonesentence;iffactsareatall，asIsuppose，andIshallseethisfromyournote，forsendingwhichverymanythanks。
Ihavebeensopoorly，thelastthreedays，thatIsometimesdoubtwhetherIshallevergetmylittlevolumedone，thoughsonearlycompleted……
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，March15th[1859]。
MydearHooker，IamPLEASEDatwhatyousayofmychapter。YouhavenotattackeditnearlysomuchasIfearedyouwould。YoudonotseemtohavedetectedMANYerrors。Itwasnearlyallwrittenfrommemory，andhenceIwasparticularlyfearful;itwouldhavebeenbetterifthewholehadfirstbeencarefullywrittenout，andabstractedafterwards。Ilookatitasmorallycertainthatitmustincludemucherrorinsomeofitsgeneralviews。I
willjustrunoverafewpointsinyournote，butdonottroubleyourselftoreplywithoutyouhavesomethingimportanttosay……IshouldliketoknowwhetherthecaseofEndemicbatsinislandsstruckyou;ithasmeespecially;perhapstoostrongly。
Withheartythanks，everyours，C。DARWIN。
P。S。Youcannottellwhatareliefithasbeentomeyourlookingoverthischapter，asIfeltveryshakyonit。
Ishallto—morrowfinishmylastchapter（exceptarecapitulation）onAffinities，Homologies，Embryology，etc。，andthefactsseemtometocomeoutVERYstrongformutabilityofspecies。
Ihavebeenmuchinterestedinworkingoutthechapter。
Ishallnow，thankGod，beginlookingovertheoldfirstchaptersforpress。
Butmyhealthisnowsoverypoor，thateventhiswilltakemelong。
CHARLESDARWINTOW。D。FOX。
Down[March]24th[1859]。