CHAPTER III. 



SPREAD OF EVOLUTION. 



1861-1862. 



[THE beginning of the year 1861 saw my father with the 

 third chapter of ' The Variation of Animals and Plants ' still 

 on his hands. It had been begun in the previous August, 

 and was not finished until March 1861. He was, however, for 

 part of this time (I believe during December 1860 and 

 January 1861) engaged in a new edition (2000 copies*) of the 

 ' Origin,' which was largely corrected and added to, and was 

 published in April 1861. 



With regard to this, the third edition, he wrote to Mr. 

 Murray in December 1860 : 



" I shall be glad to hear when you have decided how 

 many copies you will print off the more the better for me 

 in all ways, as far as compatible with safety ; for I hope 

 never again to make so many corrections, or rather additions, 

 which I have made in hopes of making my many rather 

 stupid reviewers at least understand what is meant. I hope 

 and think I shall improve the book considerably." 



An interesting feature in the new edition was the " His- 

 torical Sketch of the Recent Progress of Opinion on the Origin 

 of Species "* which now appeared for the first time, and was 

 continued in the later editions of the work. It bears a strong 



* The Historical Sketch had already appeared in the first German 

 edition (1860) and the American edition. Bronn states in the German 

 edition (footnote, p. i) that it was his critique in the ' N. Jahrbuch fur 

 Mineralogie ' that suggested the idea of such a sketch to my father. 



