2/6 JETAT. 27. 



on the beautiful appearance of some plant with an astounding 

 long name, and asked me about its habitation. Some one 

 else seemed quite surprised that I knew nothing about a Carex 

 from I do not know where. I was at last forced to plead 

 most entire innocence, and that I knew no more about the 

 plants which I had collected than the man in the moon." 



As to part of his Geological Collection he was soon able 

 to write : " I [have] disposed of the most important part 

 [of] my collections, by giving all the fossil bones to the 

 College of Surgeons, casts of them will be distributed, and 

 descriptions published. They are very curious and valuable ; 

 one head belonged to some gnawing animal, but of the size 

 of a Hippopotamus ! Another to an ant-eater of the size of a 

 horse!" 



It is worth noting that at this time the only extinct mam- 

 malia from South America, which had been described, were 

 Mastodon (three species) and Megatherium. The remains 

 of the other extinct Edentata from Sir Woodbine Parish's 

 collection had not been described. My father's specimens 

 included (besides the above-mentioned Toxodon and Scelido- 

 therium) the remains of Mylodon, Glossotherium, another 

 gigantic animal allied to the ant-eater, and Macrauchenia. 

 His discovery of these remains is a matter of interest in itself, 

 but it has a special importance as a point in his own life, 

 since it was the vivid impression produced by excavating 

 them with his own hands * that formed one of the chief 

 starting-points of his speculations on the origin of species 

 This is shown in the following extract from his Pocket 

 Book for this year (1837): "In July opened first note-book 

 on Transmutation of Species. Had been greatly struck from 

 about the month of previous March on character of South 

 American fossils, and species on Galapagos Archipelago 

 These facts (especially latter), origin of all my views."] 



* I have often heard him speak a huge, partly excavated bone, when 

 of the despair with which he had to the boat waiting for him would wait 

 break off the projecting extremity of no longer. 



