Alfred Russel Wallace 



Ca^nals," and am now writing an article, or perhaps a 

 small book, about it. I am sure his theories are all wrong, 

 and I am showing why, so that anyone can see his fallacies. 

 His observations, drawings, photographs, etc., are all quite 

 right, and I believe true to nature, but his interpretation of 

 what he sees is wrong — often even to absurdity. He began 

 by thinking the straight lines are works of art, and as he 

 finds more and more of these straight lines, he thinks that 

 proves more completely that they are works of art, and then 

 he twists all other evidence to suit that. The book is not 

 very well written, but no doubt the newspaper men think 

 that as he is such a great astronomer he must know what 

 it all means ! 



I am more than ever convinced that Mars is totally un- 

 inhabitable. . . . — Yours very truly, 



Alfred K. Wallace. 



To Prof. Barrett 



Broadstone, Winiborne. Aiigust 10, 1907. 



My dear Barrett, — Thanks for your letter, and your friend 

 Prof. Stroud's. I have come to the sad conclusion that it is 

 hopeless to get any mathematician to trouble himself to track 

 out Lowell's obscurities and fallacies. . . . So, being driven 

 on to my own resources, I have worked out a mode of esti- 

 mating (within limits) the temperature of Mars, without any 

 mathematical formuLne — and only a little arithmetic. I want 

 to know if there is any fallacy in it, and therefore take the 

 liberty of sending it to you, as you are taking your holiday, 

 just to read it over and tell me if you see any flaw in it. I 

 also send my short summary of Lowell's Philosophical Maga- 

 zine paper, so that you can see if my criticism at the end is 

 fair, and whether his words really mean what to me they 

 seem to. . . . — Yours very sincerely, 



Alfred R. Wallace. 

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