94 



THE • ORIGIN OF SPECIES.' [iS6o. 



and well balanced, but not brilliant. He discusses Hooker's 

 books at as great length as mine, and makes excellent ex- 

 tracts ; but I could not get Hooker to feel the least interest 

 in being praised. 



Carpenter speaks of you in thoroughly proper terms. 

 There is a brilliant review by Huxley,* with capital hits, but 

 I do not know that he much advances the subject. I thi?ik 

 I have convinced him that he has hardly allowed weight 

 enough to the case of varieties of plants being in some degrees 

 sterile. 



To diverge from reviews : Asa Gray sends me from Wy- 

 man (who will write), a good case of all the pigs being black 

 in the Everglades of Virginia. On asking about the cause, it 

 seems (I have got capital analogous cases) that when the 

 black pigs eat a certain nut their bones become red, and they 

 suffer to a certain extent, but that the white pigs lose their 

 hoofs and perish, " and we aid by selection, for we kill most 

 of the young white pigs." This was said by men who could 

 hardly read. By the way, it is a great blow to me that you 

 cannot admit the potency of natural selection. The more I 

 think of it, the less I doubt its power for great and small 

 changes. I have just read the 'Edinburgh,'! which without 



doubt is by . It is extremely malignant, clever, and I 



fear will be very damaging. He is atrociously severe on 

 Huxley's lecture, and very bitter against Hooker. So we 

 three enjoyed it together. Not that I really enjoyed it, for it 

 made me uncomfortable for one night ; but I have got quite 

 over it to-day. It requires much study to appreciate all the 

 bitter spite of many of the remarks against me ; indeed I did 

 not discover all myself. It scandalously misrepresents many 

 parts. He misquotes some passages, altering words within 

 inverted commas. ... 



It is painful to be hated in the intense degree with which 

 hates me. 



* Westminster Review,' April i860. 

 f ' Edinburgh Review,' April i860. 



