1846.] MR. JENYNS' 'OBSERVATIONS.' 35 



drawn up a sketch and had it copied (in 200 pages) of my 

 conclusions ; and if I thought at some future time that you 

 would think it worth reading, I should, of course, be most 

 thankful to have the criticism of so competent a critic. 

 Excuse this very long and egotistical and ill-written letter, 

 which by your remarks you have led me into, and believe me, 



Yours very truly, 



C. Darwin, 



C. Darwin to L. Jenyns, 



Down, Oct. 17th, 1846. 



Dear Jenyns, I have taken a most ungrateful length 

 of time in thanking you for your very kind present of 

 your ' Observations.' But I happened to have had in hand 

 several other books, and have finished yours only a few days 

 ago. I found it very pleasant reading, and many of your 

 facts interested me much. I think I was more interested, 

 which is odd, with your notes on some of the lower animals 

 than on the higher ones. The introduction struck me as very 

 good ; but this is what I expected, for I well remember being 

 quite delighted with a preliminary essay to the first number 

 of the ' Annals of Natural History.' I missed one discussion, 

 and think myself ill-used, for I remember your saying you 

 would make some remarks on the weather and barometer, 

 as a guide for the ignorant in prediction. I had also hoped 

 to have perhaps met with some remarks on the amount of 

 variation in our common species. Andrew Smith once 

 declared he would get some hundreds of specimens of larks 

 and sparrows from all parts of Great Britain, and see whether, 

 with finest measurements, he could detect any proportional 

 variations in beaks or limbs, &c. This point interests me 

 from having lately been skimming over the absurdly opposite 

 conclusions of Gloger and Brehm ; the one making half-a- 

 dozen species out of every common bird, and the other 



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