1859-1863] CHILLINGHAM CATTLE 1 87 



tinned my work several limes. My views spread slowly in Letter 126 

 England and America ; and I am much surprised to find them 

 most commonly accepted by geologists, next by botanists, and 

 least by zoologists. I am much pleased that the younger 

 and middle-aged geologists are coming round, for the argu- 

 ments from Geology have always seemed strongest against 

 me. Not one of the older geologists (except Lyell) has been 

 even shaken in his views of the eternal immutability of species. 

 But so many of the younger men are turning round with zeal 

 that I look to the future with some confidence. I am now at 

 work on " Variation under Domestication," but make slow 

 progress — it is such tedious work comparing skeletons. 



With very sincere thanks for the kind sympathy which 

 you have always shown me, and with much respect, . . . 



P.S. — I have lately read M. Naudin's paper, 1 but it does not 

 seem to me to anticipate me, as he does not show how 

 selection could be applied under nature ; but an obscure 

 writer 2 on forest trees, in 1830, in Scotland, most expressly 

 and clearly anticipated my views — though he put the "case 

 so briefly that no single person ever noticed the scattered 

 passages in his book. 



To L. Hindmarsh. Letter 127 



The following letter was in reply to one from Mr. Hindmarsh, to 



whom Mr. Darwin had written asking for information on the average 



number of animals killed each year in the Chillingham herd. The object 



of the request was to obtain information which might throw light on the 



rate of increase of the cattle relatively to those on the pampas of South 



America. Mr. Hindmarsh had contributed a paper "On the Wild 



Cattle of Chillingham Park" to the Annals and Mag. Nat. Hist., Vol. II., 



p. 274, 1839. 



Down, May 12th [1861]. 



I thank you sincerely for your prompt and great kind- 

 ness, and return the letter, which 1 have been very glad to 



1 Naudin's paper {Revue Horticole, 1852) is mentioned in the " Historical 

 Sketch" prefixed to the later editions of the Origin (Ed. VI., p. xix). 

 Naudin insisted that species are formed in a manner analogous to the 

 production of varieties by cultivators, i.e., by selection, "but he does not 

 show how selection acts under nature." In the Life and Letters, II., 

 p. 246, Darwin, speaking of Naudin's work, says : " Decaisne seems to 

 think he gives my whole theory." 



' The obscure writer is Patrick Matthew (see the " Historical Sketch 1 ' 

 in the Origin). 



