To E. S. Morse 21 October 1879
Down | Beckenham, Kent. | (Railway Station | Orpington S.E.R.)
Oct 21. 1879
My dear Sir
Although you are so kind as to tell me not to write, I must just thank you for the proofs of your paper which has interested me greatly.1 The increase in the number of ridges in the 3 species of Arca seems to me a very note-worthy fact; as does the increase of size in so many yet not in all the species.2 What a constant state of fluctuation the whole organic world seems to be in! It is interesting to hear that everywhere the first Change apparently is in the proportional numbers of the species: I was much struck with this fact in the upraised shells at Coquimbo in Chile, as mentioned in my Geolog. Obs. on S. America.3
Of all the wonders of the world, the progress of Japan, in which you have been aiding, seems to me about the most wonderful.4
Believe me, my dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | Charles Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Morse, Edward Sylvester. 1879. Shell mounds of Omori. Memoirs of the Science Department, University of Tokio, Japan 1: 1–36.
Summary
Thanks for ESM’s paper [see 12201].
Remarks on progress of Japan.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-12265
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Edward Sylvester Morse
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Peabody Essex Museum: Phillips Library (E. S. Morse Papers, E 2, Box 3, Folder 11)
- Physical description
- ALS 1p
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12265,” accessed on 25 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12265.xml