Alfred Russel Wallace 



cassowaries. The difficulty to me seems to be, how, if they 

 once had flight, could they have lost it, surrounded by swift 

 and powerful carnivora against whom it must have been the 

 only defence ? 



This probably is all clear to you, but I think it is a point 

 you might touch upon, as I think the objection will seem a 

 strong one to most people. 



In a day or two I go to Devonshire for a few weeks 

 and hope to lay in a stock of health to enable me to stick 

 to work at my collections during the winter. I begin to 

 find that large collections involve a heavy amount of 

 manual labour which is not very agreeable. 



Present my compliments to Mrs. and Miss Darwin, and 

 believe me yours very faithfully, Alfred R. Wallace. 



1 Carlton Terrace^ Southampton. August 20, 1862. 



My dear Mr. Wallace, — You will not be surprised that 

 I have been slow in answering when I tell you that my poor 

 boy' became frightfully worse after you were at Down ; and 

 that during our journey to Bournemouth he had a slight re- 

 lapse here and my wife took the scarlet fever rather severely. 

 She is over the crisis. I have had a horrid time of it, and God 

 only knows when we shall be all safe at home again — half my 

 family are at Bournemouth. 



I have given a piece of the comb from Timor to a 

 Mr. Woodbury (who is working at the subject), and he is 

 extremely interested by it (I was sure the specimen would 

 be valuable) and has requested me to ascertain whether the 

 bee (A. testacea) is domesticated when it makes its combs. 

 Will you kindly inform me ? 



Your remarks on ostriches have interested me, and I have 

 alluded to the case in the Third Edition. The difficulty does 

 not seem to me so great as to you. Think of bustards, which 



1 Now Major Leonard Darwin. 

 146 



