1 86o."| THE 'EDINBURGH REVIEW.' <^ 



Now for a curious thing about my book, and then I have 

 done. In last Saturday's Gardeners' Chronicle* a Mr. Patrick 

 Matthew publishes a' long extract from his work on * Naval 

 Timber and Arboriculture/ published in 1831, in which he 

 briefly but completely anticipates the theory of Natural Selec- 

 tion. I have ordered the book, as some few passages are 

 rather obscure, but it is certainly, I think, a complete but 

 not developed anticipation ! Erasmus always said that surely 

 this would be shown to be the case some day. Anyhow, one 

 may be excused in not having discovered the fact in a work 

 on Naval Timber. 



I heartily hope that your Torquay work may be success- 

 ful. Give my kindest remembrances to Falconer, and I hope 

 he is pretty well. Hooker and Huxley (with Mrs. Huxley) 

 were extremely pleasant. But poor dear Hooker is tired to 

 death of my book, and it is a marvel and a prodigy if you are 

 not worse tired if that be possible. Farewell, my dear 

 Lyell, 



Yours affectionately, 



C. DARWIN. 



C. Darwin to /. D. Hooker. 



Down [April I3th, 1860]. 



MY DEAR HOOKER, Questions of priority so often lead 

 to odious quarrels, that I should esteem it a great favour if 

 you would read the enclosed, f If you think it proper that I 



* April 7th, 1860. 



f My father wrote (Gardeners' Chronicle, 1860, p. 362, April 2 1st) : " I 

 have been much interested by Mr. Patrick Matthew's communication in 

 the number of your paper dated April 7th. I freely acknowledge that Mr. 

 Matthew has anticipated by many years the explanation which I have 

 offered of the origin of species, under the name of natural selection. I 

 think that no one will feel surprised that neither I, nor apparently any 

 other naturalist, had heard of Mr. Matthew's views, considering how brief- 

 ly they are given, and that they appeared in the appendix to a work on 

 Naval Timber and Arboriculture. I can do no more than offer my apol- 

 ogies to Mr. Matthew for my entire ignorance of this publication. If an- 



