Correspondence on Biology, etc. 



life— that his children would inherit his bad health. It 

 seems pretty clear, from what F. Darwin says in the new 

 edition, that Darwin's constant nervous stomach irritation 

 was caused by his five years sea-sickness. It was tho- 

 roughly established before, and in the early years of, his 

 marriage, and, on his own theory his children ought all 

 to have inherited it. Have they ? You know perhaps 

 better than I do, whether any of the family show any 

 symptoms of that particular form of illness — and if not it 

 is a fine ca«e I — Yours very faithfully, 



Alfred R. Wallace. 



Wallace was formally admitted to the Eoyal Society in 

 June, 1893. The postscript of the following letter refers to 

 his cordial reception by the Fellows. 



To Prof. Meldola 



Parkstone, Dorset. June 10, 1893. 



My dear Meldola, — As we had no time to " discourse " 

 on Thursday, I will say a few words on the individual adapta- 

 bility question. We have to deal with facts, and facts cer- 

 tainly show that, in many groups, there is a great amount 

 of adaptable change produced in the individual by external 

 conditions, and that that change is not inherited. I do not 

 see that this places Natural Selection in any subordinate 

 position, because this individual adaptability is evidently 

 advantageous to many species, and may itself have been 

 produced or increased by Natural Selection. When a 

 species is subject to great changes of conditions, either 

 locally or at uncertain times, it may be a decided advan- 

 tage to it to become individually adapted to that change 

 while retaining the power to revert instantly to its original 

 form when the normal conditions return. But whenever 

 the changed conditions are permanent, or are such that 



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