m 



Evolution of Animal Life. 1.j7 



akesi icorlds make t/teni.sdi-e.'i.' Such was evidently the thought 

 of the apostle who said, " By the ivord of his power were all things 

 made.!' 



Pkofessor p. II. Van der Weyde: — 



I desire to iiresent to the Association an autograph letter of 

 Charles Darwin, never heretofore puhlished, and of interest as 

 bearing upon the subject of this lecture. It was written to my 

 son, Avho was traveling in South America, and taking photographs 

 of such noteworthy objects and animal remains as he thought 

 worthy of preservation and subsequent study. Some of these pho- 

 tographs, at my suggestion, he sent to Mr. Darwin, receiving this 

 letter in acknowledgment. 



Letter of Charles Darwix: — 



The letter of Mr. Darwin, which was read to the Association by 

 the President, Dr. Janes, is as follows: 



Dowx, Beckingham, Kext, 



September 29, 1876. 



Dear Sir: I am much obliged for the photographs which you 

 were so kind as to send me. I have sent them to Professor Flower 

 (one of the most capable judges in England) of the Royal College of 

 Surgeons, where my specimens from the Rio Plata were deposited. 

 He admires the fine specimens of Toxodou, and says that all the 

 others apparently belong to Mylodon. I am extr.emely glad that 

 you and your friends intend collecting the fossil mammals. I will 

 make two or three suggestions, though perhaps superfluous. 



.Judging from a distance, the Barrancas de Gregorio seem to me 

 worth investigating; and it would be advisable to ascertain where 

 these cliffs are contemporaneous with the Pampean formation. 

 Secondly, as far as I know, the bones of the smaller mammals have 

 not been collected, and these might be as valuable as those of the 

 gigantic mammals: at M. Hermora, near Bahia Blanca, I found 

 the remains of small species. Thirdly, it would be of paramount 

 importance to find mammalian remains in the tertiary strata, such 

 as those at Sta. Fe Bajada beueath and older than the Pampean 

 formation. Near the mouth of the Uruguay I found such strata 

 with great extinct oysters, and beneath these a formation in 

 character cpiite like the Pampean, and which therefore it is pi-ob- 

 able would contain mammalian remains. 



Heartily wishing you success, I remain, dear sir, 



Yours faithfully, 



Charles Darwix. 



