To E. S. Morse 3 December 1871
Down, | Beckenham, Kent.
Dec 3rd. 1871
Dear Sir,
I am much obliged to you for having sent me your two interesting papers and for the kind writing on the cover.1
I am very glad to have my error corrected about the protective colouring of Shells.2 It is no excuse for my broad statement, but I had in my mind the species which are brightly or beautifully coloured, & I can as yet hardly think that the colouring in such cases is protective.3
With my best thanks I remain | My dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Charles Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.
Morse, Edward Sylvester. 1865. A classification of mollusca, based on the principle of cephalization. Proceedings of the Essex Institute 4: 162–80.
Morse, Edward Sylvester. 1871. Remarks on the adaptive coloration of mollusca. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History 14: 141–5.
Summary
Obliged for ESM’s article ["On adaptive coloration of the Mollusca", Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 14 (1870–1): 141–5]. Glad to have error corrected about protective colouring of shells.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-8092
- 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
- LS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 8092,” accessed on 18 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-8092.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 19