DARWIN. 31 



Coming now to Darwin's Journal as first published in 

 1839, forming the third volume of Fitzroy's narrative, 

 the yth of January, 1832, on which the Peak ot 

 Teneriffe was seen suddenly illumined, while the lower 

 parts were veiled in fleecy clouds, is noted as " the first 

 of many delightful days never to be forgotten." On the 

 1 6th the Cape de Verde Islands were reached, and their 

 volcanic geology was carefully explored. Darwin was 

 already equipped with the first volume of LyelPs famous 

 "Principles of Geology," published in 1830, the second 

 following in 1832; and in the second edition of his 

 journal, published in 1845, ne acknowledges with grateful 

 pleasure " that the chief part of whatever scientific merit 

 this journal and the other works of the author may 

 possess, has been derived from studying the well-known 

 and admirable 'Principles of Geology.' " He was already 

 noting the diffusion of minute organisms and impalpable 

 dust by winds, 1 and was much surprised to find in some 

 dust collected on a vessel 300 miles from land particles 

 of stone more than a thousandth of an inch square. 

 After this, he remarks, one need not be surprised at the 

 diffusion of the far lighter and smaller sporules of crypto- 

 gamous plants. 



The volcanic island of St. Paul in the open Atlantic 

 was touched at on February i6th, and it afforded the 

 young naturalist a text for destroying the pretty ideas 



1 Mr. Grant Allen ("Darwin," p. 42) states that Darwin observed 

 sixty-seven distinct organic forms in the fine dust which fell on deck. 

 It was Ehrenberg who determined these organisms in dust sent tc 

 him by Darwin, and four out of five of the packets of dust sent to 

 Ehrenberg were given to Darwin by Lyell (Darwin's Journal, 

 second edition, p. 5). 



