356 SPREAD OF EVOLUTION. [l86l. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE SPREAD OF EVOLUTION. 

 I86I-I862. 



[THE beginning of the year 1861 saw my father with the 

 third chapter of 'The Variation of Animals and Plants' still 

 on his hands. This chapter had been begun in the previous 

 August, and was not finished until March 1861. He was, 

 however, for part of this time (I believe during December 

 1860 and January 1861) engaged in a new edition (2000 

 copies) of the ' Origin,' which was largely corrected and added 

 to, and was published in April 1861. 



With regard to this, the third edition, he wrote to Mr. Murray 

 in December 1860: 



" I shall be glad to hear when you have decided how many 

 copies you will print off the more the better for me in all 

 ways, as far as compatible with safety ; for I hope never again 

 to make so many corrections, or rather additions, which I 

 have made in hopes of making my many rather stupid 

 reviewers at least understand what is meant. I hope and 

 think I shall improve the book considerably." 



An interesting feature in the new edition was the " His- 

 torical Sketch of the Recent Progress of Opinion on the Origin 

 of Species " * which now appeared for the first time, and was 

 continued in the later editions of the work. It bears a strong 



* The Historical Sketch had al- man edition (footnote, p. i) that it 



ready appeared in the first German was his critique in the ' N. Jahrbuch 



edition (1860) and the American fur Mineralogie ' that suggested the 



edition. Bronn states in the Ger- idea of such a sketch to my father. 



