From Charles Lyell [22 November 1859]1
201 Rattle of snake
The reader is here tantalized to enquire what can be your explanation of the rattle2
It would relieve him if you have no guess could you say so—
Qy. Why do moths & certain gnats fly into candles & why are they not all on their way to the moon, at least when the moon is in the horizon—
I formerly observed that they fly very much less at candles on a moon-light night. Let a cloud pass over & they are again attracted to the candle—
211. l. 7 from bottom
The passing over imperfect instincts tantalizing—
qy flies mistaking the odour of the (Drossera?) for carrion & getting caught— one or two sentences might do—an example wanted because the ignorance so great & the optimists sure to be up in arms—
Afterwards at p. 218 the ostrich is given—but an earlier example would interest.
CD annotations
Footnotes
Bibliography
Natural selection: Charles Darwin’s Natural selection: being the second part of his big species book written from 1856 to 1858. Edited by R. C. Stauffer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1975.
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
Summary
Comments on pp. 201, 211, and 218 [of Origin].
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-2551
- From
- Charles Lyell, 1st baronet
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- unstated
- Source of text
- DAR 205.11: 139
- Physical description
- inc †
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2551,” accessed on 1 September 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2551.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 7