To Cuthbert Collingwood 16 February [1866]
Down | Bromley Kent
Feb 16
Dear Sir
I am sorry that the state of my health & your short time will prevent us meeting.1 You have my cordial good wishes for your health & success in every way. As I do not know the Malay Arch. or coast of China I have no special suggestions, nor indeed any general ones of any novelty; but I may mention a few points which I shd myself especially attend to if I were going myself on the expedition. Enquire after & search any caverns in the Malay Arch. for fossil bones & all recent deposits for the same.2 If you have the means nothing wd give more valuable results than deep sea dredging in the Tropics.3 If you ascend any moderately lofty Mts. & are acquainted with glacial action, it wd be well to observe on this subject.4 If you fish in open ocean for minute surface animals, look out for seeds, & attend to all occasional means of distribution.5 Domestic animals have generally been neglected by travelling naturalistss. Their history, peculiarities, & care taken in breeding them ought to be attended to.6 I may add one little point which I have been surprised has been so rarely noticed, viz. are the gestures & expression of countenance under various emotions with real savages the same as with us?7
With my repeated good wishes, | I remain dear Sir | yours very faithfully | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Collingwood, Cuthbert. 1868. Rambles of a naturalist on the shores and waters of the China Sea: being observations in natural history during a voyage to China, Formosa, Borneo, Singapore, etc., made in Her Majesty’s vessels in 1866 and 1867. London: John Murray.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Expression: The expression of the emotions in man and animals. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1872.
Notebooks: Charles Darwin’s notebooks, 1836–1844. Geology, transmutation of species, metaphysical enquiries. Transcribed and edited by Paul H. Barrett et al. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press for the British Museum (Natural History). 1987.
Origin 4th ed.: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 4th edition, with additions and corrections. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1866.
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.
Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.
Summary
Regrets that his health prevents their meeting, but offers some suggestions for the expedition to the Malay Archipelago and coast of China: the search of caverns in the Malay Archipelago for fossil bones, deep sea dredging in the tropics, glacial action in any moderately steep mountains, means of geographical distribution, the history of domestic animals in these regions, and gestures and expressions of real savages as compared with our civilised expressions. [See 5008 and 5011.]
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-5008B
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Cuthbert Collingwood
- Sent from
- Down
- Postmark
- FE 17 66
- Source of text
- DAR 185: 96
- Physical description
- LS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 5008B,” accessed on 24 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-5008B.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 14