1858.] LARGE GENERA VARYING. 465 



C. Darwin to J. D. Hooker. 



Down, May 6th [1858]. 



... I send by this post my MS. on the "commonness," 

 " range,'' and " variation " of species in large and small gen- 

 era. You have undertaken a horrid job in so very kindly 

 offering to read it, and I thank you warmly. I have just cor- 

 rected the copy, and am disappointed in finding how tough 

 and obscure it is ; but I cannot make it clearer, and at pres- 

 ent I loathe the very sight of it. The style of course requires 

 further correction, and if published I must try, but as yet see 

 not how, to make it clearer. 



If you have much to say and can have patience to con- 

 sider the whole subject, I would meet you in London on the 

 Phil. Club day, so as to save you the trouble of writing. For 

 Heaven's sake, you stern and awful judge and sceptic, re- 

 member that my conclusions may be true, notwithstanding 

 that Botanists may have recorded more varieties in large than 

 in small genera. It seems to me a mere balancing of proba- 

 bilities. Again I thank you most sincerely, but I fear you 

 will find it a horrid job. 



Ever yours, 



C. Darwin. 



P. S. — As usual, Hydropathy has made a man of me for a 

 short time: I hope the sea will do Mrs. Hooker much good. 



C. Darwin to A. R. Wallace. 



Down, Dec. 22nd, 1857. 



My dear Sir, — I thank you for your letter of Sept. 27th. 

 I am extremely glad to hear that you are attending to distri- 

 bution in accordance with theoretical ideas. I am a firm be- 

 liever that without speculation there is no good and original 

 observation. Few travellers have attended to such points as 

 you are now at work on ; and, indeed, the whole subject of 

 distribution of animals is dreadfully behind that of plants. 



