To Charles Lyell 24 November [1860]
Summary
Comments on CL’s advice not to reply directly to reviews.
Describes work on his Drosera manuscript.
Work delayed on his "larger book" [Variation].
Comments at length on the evolutionary significance of Robert McDonnell’s investigations ["On an organ in the skate", Nat. Hist. Rev. (1861): 57–60].
Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Addressee: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
Date: | 24 Nov [1860] |
Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.234) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2996 |
From Charles Lyell 24 November 1860
Summary
CL has calculated that elevation and subsidence of certain formations in Sweden and Norway take place at the rate of 2 1/2 feet per century. He now proposes to estimate the age of a bed by including a conjecture that pauses occur in the oscillations in the ratio of 4 periods of stasis to one of movement. Applying this formula to Scotland, the last subsidence and re-elevation would be 590,000 years and the age of the beds with human implements would be 20,000 years.
Author: | Charles Lyell, 1st baronet |
Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
Date: | 24 Nov 1860 |
Classmark: | The University of Edinburgh Centre for Research Collections (Lyell collection Coll-203/A3/7: 40–8) |
Letter no: | DCP-LETT-2996A |
letter | (2) |
Darwin, C. R. | (1) |
Lyell, Charles | (1) |
Darwin, C. R. | (1) |
Lyell, Charles | (1) |
Darwin, C. R. | (2) |
Lyell, Charles | (2) |