From Thomas Gold Appleton 5 December [1865]1
10 Commonwealth Avenue. [Boston, Mass.]
Dear Sir,
A gentleman Col Mr Charles C. Fuller2 has just returned to us from California, bringing with him a very curious fish which you may not have seen. It seems that the mountain lakes there very often suddenly dry up & the homeless fish are forced to wander in quest of new water. Nature to that end has furnished them with the legs you will see upon the specimen the Col above mentioned has been good enough to give me, for the purpose of sending it to you.
These fish have been met en route as I am confidently told. At least their migration is the general belief. If you or your friends should desire other specimens, I can procure another of which I know.—
The fish may be familiar to you and of no value to illustrate the object of your recent work, but to me it seems a most remarkable corroboration of your idea.3
If these legs do not illustrate the energy of the principle of the “Struggle for life” I know nothing of the matter.4
My sister wrote that you and Mrs Darwin were in London5 Hoping that this & the fish may find you there, and with the kindest regards to Mrs Darwin & ⟨t⟩he children I am | very sincerely | T. G. Appleton
Decr 5th.
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
Summary
Sends specimen of Californian fish that inhabits mountain lakes. The lakes often dry up and the fish have developed legs to enable them to wander in search of water.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-5296
- From
- Thomas Gold Appleton
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Boston , Mass.
- Source of text
- DAR 159: 112
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 5296,” accessed on 19 October 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-5296.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 13