84 THE UNFINISHED BOOK. [1856. 



kind of work which his chapter on Geographical Distribution 

 entailed : 



" There is wonderful ill logic in his [E. Forbes'] famous 

 and admirable memoir on distribution, as it appears to me, 

 now that I have got it up so as to give the heads in a page. 

 Depend on it, my saying is a true one, viz. that a compiler 

 is a great man, and an original man a commonplace man. 

 Any fool can generalise and speculate ; but, oh, my heavens ! 

 to get up at second hand a New Zealand Flora, that is work."] 



C. Darwin to W. D. Fox. 



Oct. 3 [1856]. 



... I remember you protested against LyelFs advice 

 of writing a sketch of my species doctrines. Well, when I 

 began I found it such unsatisfactory work that I have 

 desisted, and am now drawing up my work as perfect as my 

 materials of nineteen years' collecting suffice, but do not 

 intend to stop to perfect any line of investigation beyond 

 current work. Thus far and no farther I shall follow Lyell's 

 urgent advice. Your remarks weighed with me considerably. 

 I find to my sorrow it will run to quite a big book. I have 

 found my careful work at pigeons really invaluable, as en- 

 lightening me on many points on variation under domesti- 

 cation. The copious old literature, by which I can trace the 

 gradual changes in the breeds of pigeons has been extra- 

 ordinarily useful to me. I have just had pigeons and fowls 

 alive from the Gambia ! Rabbits and ducks I am attending 

 to pretty carefully, but less so than pigeons. I find most re- 

 markable differences in the skeletons of rabbits. Have you 

 ever kept any odd breeds of rabbits, and can you give me 

 any details ? One other question. You used to keep hawks ; 

 do you at all know, after eating a bird, how soon after they 

 throw up the pellet ? 



