Correspondence on Biology, etc. 



'' Heredity '' is intensely interesting, and I am waiting 

 anxiously for the concluding part. I will refer to these 

 papers in notes in my book, though perhaps yours will be 

 out first. . . . —Yours faithfully, a. R. Wallace. 



To Pkof. Poulton 



Frith Hill, Godalming. November 8, 1888. 



Dear Mr. Poulton, — I return herewith (but separately) 

 the " proofs " I have of Weismann's Essays. The last 

 critical one is rather heavy, and adds nothing of import- 

 ance to the earlier one on Duration of Life. I enclose my 

 *' Note " on the subject, which was written, I think, about 

 1867, certainly before 1870. You will see it was only a 

 few ideas jotted down for further elaboration and then 

 forgotten. I see however it does contain the germ of Weis- 

 mann's argument as to duration of life being determined 

 by the time of securing continuance of the species. — Yours 

 faithfully, ^ ^ Wallace. 



To Prof. Poulton 



Fritlh Hall, Godalming. January 20, 1889. 



My dear Mr. Poulton, — My attention has been called 

 by Mr. Herdman, in his Inaugural Address to the Liver- 

 pool Biological Society, to Galton's paper on '' Heredity," 

 which I read years ago but had forgotten. I have just 

 read it again (in the Journal of the Anthropological Insti- 

 tute, Vol. v., p. 329, Jan., 1876), and I find a remarkable 

 anticipation of Weismann's theories which I think should 

 be noticed in a preface to the translation of his book.* He 

 argues that it is the undeveloped germs or gemmules of the 

 fertilised ovum that form the sexual elements of the off- 

 spring, and thus heredity and atavism are explained. He 



» See footnote 3, pp. 172-3, of Weismann's " Essays upon Heredity," etc. 



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