1S46.] MR. JENYNS* 'OBSERVATIONS.' 395 



stock. A long searching amongst agricultural and horticult- 

 ural books and people makes me believe (I well know how 

 absurdly presumptuous this must appear) that I see the way 

 in which new varieties become exquisitely adapted to the 

 external conditions of life and to other surrounding beings. 

 I am a bold man to lay myself open to being thought a com- 

 plete fool, and a most deliberate one. From the nature of 

 the grounds which make me believe that species are mutable 

 in form, these grounds cannot be restricted to the closest- 

 allied species ; but how far they extend I cannot tell, as my 

 reasons fall away by degrees, when applied to species more 

 and more remote from each other. Pray do not think that !■ 

 am so blind as not to see that there are numerous immense 

 difficulties in my notions, but they appear to me less than on 

 the common view. I have 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 had 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 inter- 

 f ested 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 de- 

 lighted with a preliminary essay to the first number of the 

 * Annals of Natural History.* I missed one discussion, and 



