412 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION [Chap. VI 



Letter 319 mind still less trustworthy. I had also written to Forbes, 

 before your letter, objecting to the Sargassum} but apparently 

 on wrong grounds, for I could see no reason, on the common 

 view of absolute creations, why one Focus should not have 

 been created for the ocean, as well as several Confervae for the 

 same end. It is really a pity that Forbes is quite so specula- 

 tive : he will injure his reputation, anyhow, on the Continent ; 

 and thus will do less good. I find this is the opinion of 

 Falconer, who was with us on Sunday, and was extremely 

 agreeable. It is wonderful how much heterogeneous informa- 

 tion he has about all sorts of things. I the more regret 

 Forbes cannot more satisfactorily prove his views, as I 

 heartily wish they were established, and to a limited extent 

 I fully believe they are true ; but his boldness is astounding. 

 Do I understand your letter right, that West Africa 2 and Java 

 belong to the same botanical region — i.e., that they have many 

 non-littoral species in common? If so, it is a sickening fact : 

 think of the distance with the Indian Ocean interposed ! Do 

 some time answer mc this. With respect to polymorphism, 

 which you have been so very kind as to give me so much 

 information on, I am quite convinced it must be given up in the 

 sense you have discussed it in ; but from such cases as the 

 Galapagos birds and from hypothetical notions on variation, 

 I should be very glad to know whether it must be given up 

 in a slightly different point of view ; that is, whether the 

 peculiar insular species are generally well and strongly 

 distinguishable from the species on the nearest continent (when 

 there is a continent near) ; the Galapagos, Canary Islands, and 

 Madeira ought to answer this. I should have hypothetically 

 expected that a good many species would have been fine 

 ones, like some of the Galapagos birds, and still more so on 

 the different islands of such groups. 



I am going to ask you some questions, but I should really 

 sometimes almost be glad if you did not answer me for a long 

 time, or not at all, for in honest truth I am often ashamed at, 

 and marvel at, your kindness in writing such long letters to 



1 Edward Forbes supposed that the Sargassum or Gulf-weed repre- 

 sents the littoral sea-weeds of a now submerged continent. Mem. Geol. 

 Survey Great Britain, Vol. I., 1846, p. 349- See Lyell's Principles, II., 

 p. 396, Ed. xi. 



» This is of course a misunderstanding. 



