24 GROWTH OF THE 'ORIGIN.' [1844.. 



yourself, "on what a man have I been wasting my time 

 and writing to." I should, five years ago, have thought 

 so. . . . 



[The following letter written on February 23, 1844, shows 

 that the acquaintanceship with Sir J. D. Hooker was then 

 fast ripening into friendship. The letter is chiefly of interest 

 as showing the sort of problems then occupying my father's 

 mind :] 



DEAR HOOKER, I hope you will excuse the freedom of my 

 address, but I feel that as co-circum-wanderers and as fellow 

 labourers (though myself a very weak one) we may throw 

 aside some of the old-world formality. ... I have just finished 

 a little volume on the volcanic islands which we visited. I 

 do not know how far you care for dry simple geology, but I 

 hope you will let me send you a copy. I suppose I can send 

 it from London by common coach conveyance. 



... I am going to ask you some more questions, though I 

 dare say, without asking them, I shall see answers in your 

 work, when published, which will be quite time enough for 

 my purposes. First for the Galapagos, you will see in my 

 Journal, that the Birds, though peculiar species, have a most 

 obvious S. American aspect: I have just ascertained the 

 same thing holds good with the sea-shells. Is it so with 

 those plants which are peculiar to this archipelago ; you state 

 that their numerical proportions are continental (is not this a 

 very curious fact?) but are they related in forms to S. 

 America. Do you know of any other case of an archipelago, 

 with the separate islands possessing distinct representative 

 species ? I have always intended (but have not yet done so) 

 to examine Webb and Berthelot on the Canary Islands for 

 this object. Talking with Mr. Bentham, he told me that the 

 separate islands of the Sandwich Archipelago possessed 

 distinct representative species of the same genera of Labiatae : 

 would not this be worth your enquiry ? How is it with the 



