Alfred Russel Wallace 



the most satisfactory of all the theories, if not quite satis- 

 factory. . . . — Believe me yours very faithfully, 



Alfred K. Wallace. 



P.S. — Darwin's book on the whole is wonderful! There 

 are plenty of points open to criticism, but it is a marvellous 

 contribution to the history of the development of the forms 

 of life. 



Sir C. Lyell to A. R. Wallace 



February 15, 1876. 



Dear Wallace, — I have read the Preface,' and like and 

 approve of it much. I do not believe there is a word which 

 Darwin would wish altered. It is high time this modest 

 assertion of your claims as an independent originator of 

 Natural Selection should be published. — Ever most truly, 



Cha. Lyell. 



Sir J. Hooker to A. R. Wallace 



Royal Gardens, Kew. August 2, 1880. 



My dear Wallace, — I think you have made an immense 

 advance to our knowledge of the ways and means of distribu- 

 tion, and bridged many great gaps.'* Your reasoning seems 

 to me to be sound throughout, though I am not prepared to 

 receive it in all its details. 



I am disposed to regard the Western Australian flora as 

 the latest in point of origin, and I hope to prove it by de- 

 velopment, and by the absence of various types. If Western 

 Australia ever had an old flora, I am inclined to suppose 

 that it has been destroyed by the Invasion of Eastern types 

 after the union with East Australia. My idea is that these 

 types worked round by the south, and altered rapidly as 



* Probably refers to " The Geographical Distribution of Animals." 



• The book referred to is Wallace's " Island Life," published in 1880. 



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