( i8i ) 



CHAPTER V. 



MISCELLANEA, INCLUDING SECOND EDITIONS OF 'CORAL 

 REEFS,' THE 'DESCENT OF MAN,' AND THE 'VARIATION 

 OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS.' 



1874 AND 1875. 



[The year 1 874 was given up to ' Insectivorous Plants,' with 

 the exception of the months devoted to the second edition of 

 the ' Descent of Man,' (see Vol. III. p. 175) and with the further 

 exception of the time given to a second edition of his ' Coral 

 Reefs ' (1874). The Preface to the latter states that new facts 

 have been added, the whole book revised, and " the latter 

 chapters almost rewritten." In the Appendix some account 

 is given of Professor Semper's objections, and this was the 

 occasion of correspondence between that naturalist and my 

 father. In Professor Semper's volume, ' Animal Life ' (one of 

 the International Series), the author calls attention to the 

 subject in the following passage which I give in German, the 

 published English translation being, as it seems to me, 

 incorrect : " Es scheint mir als ob er in der zweiten Ausgabe 

 seines allgemein bekannten Werks iiber KorallenrirTe einem 

 Irrthume iiber meine Beobachtungen zum Opfer gefallen ist, 

 indem er die Angaben, die ich allerdings bisher immer nur 

 sehr kurz gehalten hatte, vollstandig falsch wiedergegeben 

 hat." 



The proof-sheets containing this passage were sent by Pro- 

 fessor Semper to my father before ' Animal Life ' was published, 

 and this was the occasion for the following letter, which was 

 afterwards published in Professor Semper's book.] 



