Vol. XXV] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 35 



Wallace to the Society, "On the Tendency of Species to form 

 Varieties ; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by 

 Natural Means of Selection," the first Darwin-Wallace medal 

 was presented to Wallace, who said in reply, among- other 

 things : 



this brings me to the very interesting question : Why did so many 

 of the greatest intellects fail, while Darwin and myself hit upon the 

 solution of this problem a solution which this Celebration proves to 

 have been (and still to be) a satisfying one to a large number of 

 those best able to form a judgment on its merits? As I have found 

 what seems to me a good and precise answer to this question, and one 

 which is of some psychological interest, I will, with your permission, 

 briefly state what it is. 



On a careful consideration, we find a curious series of correspond- 

 ences, both in mind and in environment, which led Darwin and myself, 

 alone among our contemporaries, to reach identically the same theory. 

 First (and most important, as I believe), in early life both Darwin 

 and myself became ardent beetle hunters. Now there is certainly no 

 group of organisms that so impresses the collector by the almost in- 

 finite number of its specific forms, the endless modifications of struc- 

 ture, shape, color and surface-markings that distinguish them from 

 each other, and their innumerable adaptations to diverse environ- 

 ments. * * * 



Again, both Darwin and myself had what he terms "the mere pas- 

 sion of collecting" not that of studying the minutiae of structure, 

 either internal or external. I should describe it rather as an intense 

 interest in the mere variety of living things the variety that catches 

 the eye of the observer even among those which are very much 

 alike, but which are soon found to differ in several distinct char- 

 acters. * * * 



It is the constant search for and detection of these often unexpected 

 differences between very similar creatures that gives such an intellec- 

 tual charm and fascination to the mere collection of these insects ; and 

 when, as in the case of Darwin and myself, the collectors were of a 

 speculative turn of mind, they were constantly led to think upon the 

 "why" and the "how" of all this wonderful variety in nature this 

 overwhelming, and, at first sight, purposeless wealth of specific forms 

 among the very humblest forms of life. 



Then, a little later (and with both of us almost accidentally) we be- 

 came travelers, collectors and observers, in some of the richest and 

 most interesting portions of the earth ; and we thus had forced upon 

 our attention all the strange phenomena of local and geographical dis- 

 tribution, with the numerous problems to which they give rise. Thence- 

 forward our interest in the great mystery of how species came into ex- 



