xvm CONTENTS 



" The Power of Movement in Plants " l88 °- 



" Vegetable Mould and Earthworms " 1881. 



Death 19th April, 1882. 



The Darwin Family : Erasmus Darwin, 1731 — 1802 : author of 

 "Zoonomia," and grandfather of Charles Darwin. 



Life of Charles Darwin : School and College career ; found lectures, 

 "intolerably dull." The Voyage of the Beagle, 1831— 1836 ; 

 Outline of the Voyage ; its purpose and its results ; its influence 

 on Darwin — " by far the most important event in my life." 

 Return to England : lived for nearly six years in London. In 

 1842 settled at Down, near Beckenham, where the greater part 

 of his work was accomplished, and the rest of his life spent. 



Darwin's Work : The Beagle Reports, 1840 — 1846 ; the Theory of the 

 Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, 1842. The Mono- 

 graph on the Cirripedia, 1846 — 1854. 



The " Origin of Species." Preliminary Work ; unwillingness 

 to publish until completed. Independent discovery of Natural 

 Selection by Darwin and Wallace. Influence of Malthus' Essay 

 on Population. " The chief work of my life." 



Darwin's later works, "The Descent of Man," and " Expres- 

 sion of the Emotions." The great series of Botanical works. 



Personal Characteristics : Daily life and habits. Chronic ill-health. 

 System of work : Direct observation and experiment : Simple 

 methods and few instruments : Dogged industry. His last book, 

 " Vegetable Mould and Earthworms," considered as a sample 

 of his mode of work. Darwin's estimate of his own powers: 

 " My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grind- 

 ing general laws out of large collections of facts." Avoidance 

 of controversy. Darwin's influence on Scientific Thought. The 

 great importance of little things. 



INDEX Pp. 229-236 



