My dear Wallace

I have thought that you w^d. perhaps like to see enclosed specimen & extract from letter (translated from German by my son) from D^r. W. Marshall, Zoological Assistant to Schlegel at Leyden.—² Neither the specimens, nor extract. need be returned; & you need not acknowledge the receipt.— The resemblance is not so close, now that the fragments are gummed on card, as I at first thought.³ Your review of Houzeau was very good: I skimmed through the whole gigantic book, but you managed to pick at the places much better than I did for myself.— You are a born critic. What an admirable number that was of Nature.—⁴

I am writing this at Sevenoaks where we have taken a house for 3 weeks & have one more week to stay.⁵ We came here that I may get a little rest, of which I stood in much need.—

Ever yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

With respect to what you say about certain instincts of Ants having been acquired by experience or sense, have you kept in mind that the neuters, have no progeny.—⁶ I wish I knew whether the fertile females, or queen, do the same work, (viz placing the eggs in warm places &c) as the neuters do afterwards: If so the case w^d. be comparatively simple; but I believe this is not the case, & I am driven to selection of varying preexisting instincts.—