From B. D. Walsh [28 November 1866]1
a favorable review of what the author is pleased facetiously to call the Darwinian Theory.2 Funnily enough, the writer makes the same silly mistake that Agassiz made, & argues throughout on the supposition that Darwinism means the transmutation of species through the “conditions of life”, utterly ignoring Natural Selection.3 Certainly the fools are not all dead yet.
As you may see from the heading of this Paper, I am now Sole Editor of the “Practical Entomologist”.4 I have sent you a number or two of it, which I thought contained matter that might possibly interest you.5 I wish you would correct any errors into which you may notice that I have fallen there or elsewhere. For example, Osten Sacken tells me that modern research has shown that Ornithorhynchus parodoxus is not oviparous. Is this so? And how came such a mistake to be made?6 I have seen the statement in I don’t know how many books.
If you happen to know any Ornithologist who wishes to exchange European Birds for North American birds, I have a particular friend here, “Dr. Velie, Rock Island, Illinois”, who has a very fine collection & is an excellent manipulator of bird’s-skins.7 He is also an honorable man to exchange with, which is more than can be said of certain naturalists. But don’t put yourself to any trouble on account of this matter.
The conclusion of my Paper on Willow Galls is at last about to be printed. It was finished last summer, but the Society being short of funds could not print it until now. When published I shall of course do myself the pleasure to send you a copy.8
Yours ever very truly, | Benj. D. Walsh.
Chas. Darwin Esq.
P.S. I suppose you heard long ago of the Human Skull found in California in Pliocene rock, covered by two solid strata of lava. Authority Prof. Whitney, one of our best geologists.9 Casts said to have been sent to Europe.
CD annotations
Footnotes
Bibliography
Agassiz, Louis. 1863a. Methods of study in natural history. Boston, Mass.: Ticknor & Fields.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Dexter, Ralph W. 1986. Historical aspects of the Calaveras skull controversy. American Antiquity 51: 365–9.
Griffiths, Mervyn. 1978. The biology of the monotremes. New York: Academic Press.
Marginalia: Charles Darwin’s marginalia. Edited by Mario A. Di Gregorio with the assistance of Nicholas W. Gill. Vol. 1. New York and London: Garland Publishing. 1990.
Walsh, Benjamin Dann. 1864a. On certain entomological speculations of the New England school of naturalists. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia 3: 207–49.
Walsh, Benjamin Dann. 1864c. On the insects, coleopterous, hymenopterous and dipterous, inhabiting the galls of certain species of willow. Part 1st.– Diptera. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia 3: 543–644.
Walsh, Benjamin Dann. 1866b. On the insects, coleopterous, hymenopterous and dipterous, inhabiting the galls of certain species of willow.– Part 2d and last. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia 6: 223–88.
Whitney, Josiah Dwight. 1866. Notice of a human skull recently taken from a shaft near Angels, Calaveras County. [Read 16 July 1866.] Proceedings of the California Academy of Natural Sciences 3 (1867): 277–8. [Reprinted in American Journal of Science and Arts 43 (1867): 265–7.]
Summary
Says Jacob W. Velie wants to exchange birds’ skins with European naturalist.
Comments on meaning of "Darwinism".
Encloses papers from Practical Entomologist.
Discusses Ornithorhynchus paradoxus
and his paper on willow galls.
Mentions human skull found in California.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-5319
- From
- Benjamin Dann Walsh
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- unstated
- Source of text
- American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.324a)
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp inc
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 5319,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-5319.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 14