Reprinted from The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Mkthodp, 

 Vol. IX., No. 11, May 23, 1912. 



LETTER FROM PROFESSOR POULTON 



THERE are many points which it would be interesting to discuss 

 in Mr. Francis B. Sumner's review of my book, "Charles 

 Darwin and the Origin of Species." 1 I should, however, have ab- 

 stained from troubling you were it not for Mr. Sumner's quotation 

 of Professor Punnett's extraordinary misstatement of the modern 

 Darwinian view. 2 For some time I had been intending to correct 

 this curious blunder, and now that it has been quoted in your pages 

 and even gives an ill-founded relief to Mr. Sumner, I feel that the 

 time has come. 



Professor Punnett is speaking of two African species of the 

 Danaine genus, Amauris, respectively mimicked by two Nymphaline 

 butterflies found in the same localities. The two Danaines are 

 Amauris niavius dominicanus and Amauris echeria; the two Nympha- 

 lines, Euralia wahlbergi and Euralia mima. All four are figured on 

 Plate VI., facing page 134 of ' ' Mendelism. ' ' Mr. G. A. K. Marshall, 

 in 1902, 3 suggested that the two Euralias are probably forms of the 

 same species, but the proof was not finally obtained until 1909 when 

 the late Mr. A. D. Millar, of Durban, bred both forms from a single 

 female. 4 There is good reason to believe, as Professor Punnett states, 5 

 that the relationship between the two forms is Mendelian, and I can 

 now further add that there is no doubt that mima is dominant and 

 wahlbergi recessive. This conclusion is founded on the recent ex- 

 periments of my friend, Mr. W. A. Lamborn, on the corresponding 

 forms in the Lagos district, viz., dubia (==mima) and anthedon 

 (= wahlbergi). Details of these experiments Avere communicated 

 a few weeks ago to the Entomological Society of London, and will 

 appear in the Proceedings for the present year. Now for Professor 

 Punnett's statement: "On the modern Darwinian view certain indi- 

 viduals of A. dominicanus gradually diverged from the dominicanus 

 type and eventually reached the echeria type, though why this 

 should have happened does not appear to be clear. At the same 

 time those specimens [of Euralia'] which tended to vary in the direc- 

 tion of A. echeria in places where this species was more abundant 



1 This Journal, Vol. IX., pages 159-161. 



2 " Mendelism, " page 134. This, at least, is the reference in the third 

 British edition, 1911, of Professor Punnett's work. The footnote on page 160 

 of The Journal of Philosophy gives page 144. 



8 Trans. Ent. Soc. London, pages 491-2. 



'Proc. Ent. Soc, London, 1910, pages xiv-xvi; Trans., page 498. 



8 ' ' Mendelism, ' ' page 135. 



