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Often appears with: species, variation, and descent · animals and their habits · weather, storms, and the seasons · agriculture and the land · medicine, disease, and healing · custom and the manners of a people · famine, scarcity, and plenty · fate, destiny, and necessity · crafts, industry, and manufacture · the earth and its formation · fossils and the record of past life · experiment, observation, and evidence
Usually: curiosity (95) · argument (87) · detachment (72) · commentary or gloss (39) · wonder (31) · skepticism (20) · description (19) · narrative (13) · exhortation (8) · record or table (7)
“What can be more remarkable that to see a plant-like body producing an egg, capable of swimming about and of choosing a proper place to adhere to, which then sprouts into branches, each crowded with innumerable distinct animals, often of complicated organizations.” Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle · observation
“The climate of the southern part of America appears particularly favourable to the production of peat.” Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle · insight
“From these observations, confirmed by many others, it may be safely inferred that the utmost depth at which corals can construct reefs is between 20 and 30 fathoms.” Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle · insight
“In some cases it can be shown that widely-different checks act on the same species in different districts.” Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selecti · observation
“The mountain-ranges north-west of the Himalaya, and the long line of the Cordillera, seem to have afforded two great lines of invasion:” Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selecti · observation
“Every man has a right to utter what he thinks truth, and every other man has a right to knock him down for it. Martyrdom is the test.” James Boswell, Boswell's Life of Johnson · insight
“It is customary to name things after what is more perfect, as the Philosopher says (De Anima ii, 4).” Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) · insight
“For if we consider the flesh according to the species, that is, according to that which is formed therein, thus it remains always: because the nature of flesh always remains together with its natural disposition.” Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) · insight
“But if we consider flesh according to matter, then it does not remain, but is gradually destroyed and renewed: thus in the fire of a furnace, the form of fire remains, but the matter is gradually consumed, and other matter is substituted in its place.” Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) · observation
“GOD Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed it is the purest of human pleasures. It is the greatest refreshment to the spirits of man; without which, buildings and palaces are but gross handiworks;” Francis Bacon, The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral · insight
“How true remains, How merited is that adopted name Of earth--"The Mother!"--since from out the earth Are all begotten. And even now arise From out the loams how many living things-- Concreted by the rains and heat of the sun.” Titus Lucretius Carus, On the Nature of Things · insight
“Undoubtedly philosophers are in the right, when they tell us that nothing is great or little otherwise than by comparison.” Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of th · insight
Darwin argues that cultivated plants and animals show greater individual variability than wild ones because domestication involves less uniform living conditions and can require several generations to produce noticeable change.
VARIATION UNDER DOMESTICATION. Causes of Variability. Effects of Habit. Correlation of Growth. Inheritance. Character of Domestic Varieties. Difficulty of distinguishing between Varieties and Species. Origin of Domestic Varieties from one or more Species. Domestic Pigeons, their Differences and Origin. Principle of Selection anciently followed, its Effects. Methodical and Unconscious Selection. Unknown Origin of our…
He claims horticulture shows selection’s cumulative effects, citing gooseberry growth and comparisons of flowers, leaves, and fruit among varieties to argue for small changes building into distinct races.
if he wants any of these qualities, he will assuredly fail. Few would readily believe in the natural capacity and years of practice requisite to become even a skilful pigeon-fancier. The same principles are followed by horticulturists; but the variations are here often more abrupt. No one supposes that our choicest productions have been produced by a single variation from the aboriginal stock. We have proofs that th…
Darwin argues that complex relations among organisms create shifting outcomes, illustrating with Staffordshire heath planted with Scotch fir, where birds, plants, and insect communities change after enclosure.
some cause, possibly in part through facility of diffusion amongst the crowded animals, been disproportionably favoured: and here comes in a sort of struggle between the parasite and its prey. On the other hand, in many cases, a large stock of individuals of the same species, relatively to the numbers of its enemies, is absolutely necessary for its preservation. Thus we can easily raise plenty of corn and rape-seed,…
He adds that cattle can determine Scotch fir survival in Staffordshire, but in places like Paraguay a fly limits feral herbivores, with insectivorous birds regulating the whole cascading system of interdependence.
effects of frequent intercrossing, and the ill effects of close interbreeding, probably come into play in some of these cases; but on this intricate subject I will not here enlarge. Many cases are on record showing how complex and unexpected are the checks and relations between organic beings, which have to struggle together in the same country. I will give only a single instance, which, though a simple one, has int…
Darwin closes the section by claiming English plant reproduction depends on specialized insects—moths, humble-bees, and field mice—and that cats could indirectly shape flower frequency through these chains.
firs. Yet the heath was so extremely barren and so extensive that no one would ever have imagined that cattle would have so closely and effectually searched it for food. Here we see that cattle absolutely determine the existence of the Scotch fir; but in several parts of the world insects determine the existence of cattle. Perhaps Paraguay offers the most curious instance of this; for here neither cattle nor horses …
Darwin argues that numerous ecological checks acting at different times determine species survival, using examples of plant competition, insect predation, and how closely related individuals often outcompete each other.
of a feline animal in large numbers in a district might determine, through the intervention first of mice and then of bees, the frequency of certain flowers in that district! In the case of every species, many different checks, acting at different periods of life, and during different seasons or years, probably come into play; some one check or some few being generally the most potent, but all concurring in determin…
He continues that competition is often strongest among species in the same genus, then states a key idea: organisms’ structures are related to competitors, prey, and escape, as shown by teeth, claws, and seed dispersal.
up for half a dozen generations, if they were allowed to struggle together, like beings in a state of nature, and if the seed or young were not annually sorted. As species of the same genus have usually, though by no means invariably, some similarity in habits and constitution, and always in structure, the struggle will generally be more severe between species of the same genus, when they come into competition with …
Darwin argues that plants with more pollen and larger anthers can be naturally selected, leading to regular insect-mediated pollen transfer and eventually greater separation of male and female sex functions in plants.
were destroyed, it might still be a great gain to the plant; and those individuals which produced more and more pollen, and had larger and larger anthers, would be selected. When our plant, by this process of the continued preservation or natural selection of more and more attractive flowers, had been rendered highly attractive to insects, they would, unintentionally on their part, regularly carry pollen from flower…
Using an imaginary coevolution, Darwin explains how increased nectar rewards and small changes in insect feeding anatomy can favor tighter plant–bee mutual adaptation and lead to reciprocal modifications.
the division of labour, individuals with this tendency more and more increased, would be continually favoured or selected, until at last a complete separation of the sexes would be effected. Let us now turn to the nectar-feeding insects in our imaginary case: we may suppose the plant of which we have been slowly increasing the nectar by continued selection, to be a common plant; and that certain insects depended in …
He supports occasional cross-fertilisation by citing flower structures that expose or enclose reproductive organs, bee-driven pollen transfer in pea-like flowers, and cases where close pollen can be prepotent yet foreign pollen is blocked.
from another species, the former will have such a prepotent effect, that it will invariably and completely destroy, as has been shown by Gärtner, any influence from the foreign pollen. When the stamens of a flower suddenly spring towards the pistil, or slowly move one after the other towards it, the contrivance seems adapted solely to ensure self-fertilisation; and no doubt it is useful for this end: but, the agency…
Darwin argues that many trees have separated male and female flowers, allowing pollen to move between flowers and trees, and that terrestrial animals rarely if ever self-fertilise, unlike aquatic animals aided by currents.
are crossed the case is directly the reverse, for a plant’s own pollen is always prepotent over foreign pollen; but to this subject we shall return in a future chapter. In the case of a gigantic tree covered with innumerable flowers, it may be objected that pollen could seldom be carried from tree to tree, and at most only from flower to flower on the same tree, and that flowers on the same tree can be considered as…
Darwin concludes on acclimatisation: habit may be hereditary, species ranges are limited by competition and not just climate, and some imported plants show different cold-resisting constitution over time.
surprised that more wrecks of ancient life have not been preserved, owing to the less severe competition to which the inhabitants of these dark abodes will probably have been exposed. *Acclimatisation*.—Habit is hereditary with plants, as in the period of flowering, in the amount of rain requisite for seeds to germinate, in the time of sleep, etc., and this leads me to say a few words on acclimatisation. As it is ex…
Darwin weighs the roles of habit, use and disuse, and natural selection in acclimatization, citing agricultural advice, climate-tuned plant varieties in the United States, and experiments (or lack of them) on Jerusalem artichoke and kidney-beans.
or sub-tropical in their habits, ought not to be looked at as anomalies, but merely as examples of a very common flexibility of constitution, brought, under peculiar circumstances, into play. How much of the acclimatisation of species to any peculiar climate is due to mere habit, and how much to the natural selection of varieties having different innate constitutions, and how much to both means combined, is a very o…
He explains unity of type as unity of descent and treats conditions of existence as the higher law, since natural selection and inherited adaptations shape structures through growth, use/disuse, and adaptation over past time.
look only to the present inhabitants of the world, is not strictly correct, but if we include all those of past times, it must by my theory be strictly true. It is generally acknowledged that all organic beings have been formed on two great laws—Unity of Type, and the Conditions of Existence. By unity of type is meant that fundamental agreement in structure, which we see in organic beings of the same class, and whic…
Darwin lays out rules from Gärtner on hybridisation: fertility grades from zero to full, varies with conditions and individuals, and is governed partly by systematic affinity though not strictly.
known to be a sign of incipient fertilisation. From this extreme degree of sterility we have self-fertilised hybrids producing a greater and greater number of seeds up to perfect fertility. Hybrids from two species which are very difficult to cross, and which rarely produce any offspring, are generally very sterile; but the parallelism between the difficulty of making a first cross, and the sterility of the hybrids …
He introduces reciprocal crosses (male/female roles can change outcomes), notes systematic-affinity limits, and describes how hybrid fertility and resemblance can be decoupled from each other, with examples like Mirabilis and Matthiola.
in the cotyledons, can be crossed. Annual and perennial plants, deciduous and evergreen trees, plants inhabiting different stations and fitted for extremely different climates, can often be crossed with ease. By a reciprocal cross between two species, I mean the case, for instance, of a stallion-horse being first crossed with a female-ass, and then a male-ass with a mare: these two species may then be said to have b…
He uses grafting as an analogy to show compatibility can be limited by reproductive/structural differences rather than purpose, noting examples where grafting can render plants barren or increase fruit, paralleling hybrid fertility.
then to stop their further propagation by different degrees of sterility, not strictly related to the facility of the first union between their parents, seems to be a strange arrangement. The foregoing rules and facts, on the other hand, appear to me clearly to indicate that the sterility both of first crosses and of hybrids is simply incidental or dependent on unknown differences, chiefly in the reproductive system…
Darwin reports several experiments: maize crosses yielding few seeds yet fertile hybrids, gourd crosses varying with differences, Verbascum color varieties producing less seed in same-color versus crossed trials, and tobacco varieties showing altered fertility with Nicotiana glutinosa.
it is important to notice that the hybrid plants thus raised were themselves *perfectly* fertile; so that even Gärtner did not venture to consider the two varieties as specifically distinct. Girou de Buzareingues crossed three varieties of gourd, which like the maize has separated sexes, and he asserts that their mutual fertilisation is by so much the less easy as their differences are greater. How far these experim…
Darwin describes experiments on how seeds survive seawater and argues that dried fruits and plant parts can float long distances, using current speeds to suggest sea dispersal across roughly 924 miles.
least of the islands would have been formed, like other mountain-summits, of granite, metamorphic schists, old fossiliferous or other such rocks, instead of consisting of mere piles of volcanic matter. I must now say a few words on what are called accidental means, but which more properly might be called occasional means of distribution. I shall here confine myself to plants. In botanical works, this or that plant i…
He reports follow-up flotation tests by M. Martens, adds examples of drift timber and seeds in soil enclosed by transported wood, and notes seeds surviving long sea voyages in certain circumstances.
to one country might be floated across 924 miles of sea to another country; and when stranded, if blown to a favourable spot by an inland gale, they would germinate. Subsequently to my experiments, M. Martens tried similar ones, but in a much better manner, for he placed the seeds in a box in the actual sea, so that they were alternately wet and exposed to the air like really floating plants. He tried 98 seeds, most…
Darwin argues that birds and other animals spread seeds effectively: gales can blow birds far, seeds may survive passage through bird crops or even predators’ stomachs, and seeds can hitchhike via mud on feet or within fish diets.
few days’ immersion in sea-water; but some taken out of the crop of a pigeon, which had floated on artificial salt-water for 30 days, to my surprise nearly all germinated. Living birds can hardly fail to be highly effective agents in the transportation of seeds. I could give many facts showing how frequently birds of many kinds are blown by gales to vast distances across the ocean. We may I think safely assume that …
He notes that many northern-temperate-looking species found in southern hemispheres and tropical mountains are not arctic, and discusses how Alpine floras become less arctic toward the tropics, mixing identical and distinct forms.
forms of fish. Dr. Hooker informs me that twenty-five species of Algæ are common to New Zealand and to Europe, but have not been found in the intermediate tropical seas. It should be observed that the northern species and forms found in the southern parts of the southern hemisphere, and on the mountain-ranges of the intertropical regions, are not arctic, but belong to the northern temperate zones. As Mr. H. C. Watso…
Darwin argues that as cold slowly set in, tropical species retreated toward the equator, while temperate species migrated further and could sometimes invade into lowland tropics, especially via humid and high-land “lines of invasion.”
ranked by some naturalists as specifically distinct, by others as varieties; but some are certainly identical, and many, though closely related to northern forms, must be ranked as distinct species. Now let us see what light can be thrown on the foregoing facts, on the belief, supported as it is by a large body of geological evidence, that the whole world, or a large part of it, was during the Glacial period simulta…
Darwin argues that water birds and fish can transport seeds and eggs of freshwater plants and animals over long distances, using mud experiments and examples of germinating seeds in birds’ waste or stomachs.
Colymbetes, once flew on board the ‘Beagle,’ when forty-five miles distant from the nearest land: how much farther it might have flown with a favouring gale no one can tell. With respect to plants, it has long been known what enormous ranges many fresh-water and even marsh-species have, both over continents and to the most remote oceanic islands. This is strikingly shown, as remarked by Alph. de Candolle, in large g…
Douglass recalls his early life with his grandmother and grandfather, Betsey and Isaac Baily, describing her net-making, reputation for “good luck” with sweet potatoes preserved in a cabin hearth, and the superstitious planting belief.
of impatience, and even of impudent curiosity. From certain events, however, the dates of which I have since learned, I suppose myself to have been born about the year 1817. The first experience of life with me that I now remember—and I remember it but hazily—began in the family of my grandmother and grandfather. Betsey and Isaac Baily. They were quite advanced in life, and had long lived on the spot where they then…
He defines the totem system: clans share a name that signals kinship, each clan has a unique totem, and totemic names commonly refer to animals or plants, with rare cases including parts of animals or ancestors.
duties towards each other which are identical with those which have always been incumbent upon kindred: such duties as aid, vengeance, mourning, the obligation not to marry among themselves, etc. By this first characteristic, the clan does not differ from the Roman *gens* or the Greek [Greek: genos]; for this relationship also came merely from the fact that all the members of the *gens* had the same name,[215] the *…
Darwin reports brief observations at Fernando Noronha, describing its volcanic phonolite conical hill with columnar rock and trees, including laurel-like vegetation and pink flowers without leaves.
teeth, and coloured surfaces as well polished as those of a fresh shell, reformed through inorganic means from dead organic matter--mocking, also, in shape, some of the lower vegetable productions. We found on St. Paul's only two kinds of birds--the booby and the noddy. The former is a species of gannet, and the latter a tern. Both are of a tame and stupid disposition, and are so unaccustomed to visitors, that I c…
In Bahia (San Salvador), Brazil, Darwin describes a first solo walk in a Brazilian forest, praising luxuriant vegetation, insect noise with surrounding silence, and a tropical storm that makes torrents down tree trunks.
rock, shaded by laurel-like trees, and ornamented by others covered with fine pink flowers but without a single leaf, gave a pleasing effect to the nearer parts of the scenery. BAHIA, OR SAN SALVADOR. BRAZIL, Feb. 29th.--The day has passed delightfully. Delight itself, however, is a weak term to express the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first time, has wandered by himself in a Brazilian forest. The elegan…
Darwin explains his observations of the luminous beetle Pyrophorus luminousus’ spring mechanics and then tours the Botanic Garden, comparing tropical plant fragrances, haze effects, and hummingbird behavior.
to have been laid on the elasticity of the spine: so sudden a spring could not be the result of simple muscular contraction, without the aid of some mechanical contrivance. On several occasions I enjoyed some short but most pleasant excursions in the neighbouring country. One day I went to the Botanic Garden, where many plants, well known for their great utility, might be seen growing. The leaves of the camphor, p…
Darwin describes numerous rodents, especially the capybara, including sizes, habitat preferences near fresh and salt water, observed tameness, distinctive vocalizations, swimming behavior, and notes predators and meat/skin value.
fresh earth, the taint is removed. I have somewhere read that the islanders in the north of Scotland treat the rank carcasses of the fish-eating birds in the same manner. The order Rodentia is here very numerous in species: of mice alone I obtained no less than eight kinds. [4] The largest gnawing animal in the world, the Hydrochaerus capybara (the water-hog), is here also common. One which I shot at Monte Video we…
Continuing the geological narrative, Darwin notes new landscape character near basalt cliffs, small springs where formations meet, and later April 27 faster currents and dangerous tracking.
on the beach were reduced first to smaller blocks, then to pebbles and lastly to the most impalpable mud, which the tides drifted far into the Eastern or Western Ocean. With the change in the geological structure of the plains the character of the landscape likewise altered. While rambling up some of the narrow and rocky defiles, I could almost have fancied myself transported back again to the barren valleys of the…
Darwin reflects on compound animals, likening zoophytes and trees to structures made of many individuals, and uses budding and propagation to explain how individuality and life duration are shared among parts.
think I ever saw any object more beautifully so. But the remarkable circumstance was, that the flashes of light always proceeded up the branches, from the base towards the extremities. The examination of these compound animals was always very interesting to me. What can be more remarkable that to see a plant-like body producing an egg, capable of swimming about and of choosing a proper place to adhere to, which the…
On December 20 Darwin climbs toward a mountain overlooking the harbor, collects alpine plants, and describes a sombre beech-covered landscape, then notes guanaco-made paths and the hostile, stormy Strait of Magellan views from Port Famine.
del Fuego. After our first feeling of grave astonishment was over, nothing could be more ludicrous than the odd mixture of surprise and imitation which these savages every moment exhibited. The next day I attempted to penetrate some way into the country. Tierra del Fuego may be described as a mountainous land, partly submerged in the sea, so that deep inlets and bays occupy the place where valleys should exist. The…
Darwin explains Port Famine’s forests and alpine dwarf plants, describes a bright-yellow edible fungus used by Fuegians as a staple food, and then surveys local zoology including poor reptile diversity and sparse insects.
Our descent was not quite so laborious as our ascent, for the weight of the body forced a passage, and all the slips and falls were in the right direction. I have already mentioned the sombre and dull character of the evergreen forests, [3] in which two or three species of trees grow, to the exclusion of all others. Above the forest land, there are many dwarf alpine plants, which all spring from the mass of peat, a…
Darwin explains how an equable, humid, windy maritime climate extends northward along South America, affecting fruiting and enabling luxuriant forests and tree-like ferns across latitudes.
Latitude Temp. Temp. and Winter --------------------------------------------------------------- Tierra del Fuego 53 38' S. 50 33.08 41.54 Falkland Islands 51 38' S. 51 -- -- Dublin 53 21' N. 59.54 39.2 49.37 Hence we see that the central part of Tierra del Fuego is colder in winter, and no less than 9.5 degs. less hot in summer, than Dublin. According to von Buch, the mean temperature of July (not the hottest month …
Darwin relates that in the mountains of Tierra del Fuego leaf colour changes in April (their October) only on lower slopes, and argues this delay is due to the same vegetation law as in England’s differing autumns, while Fuegians’ trees never fully shed leaves.
and seeing another range through the light blue haze of a fine day! The one for a time may be very sublime; the other is all gaiety and happy life. August 14th.--I set out on a riding excursion, for the purpose of geologizing the basal parts of the Andes, which alone at this time of the year are not shut up by the winter snow. Our first day's ride was northward along the sea-coast. After dark we reached the Hacien…
Darwin identifies a fungus or plant species as Cyttaria Darwinii in Linnean Transactions and notes that a related Chilean species is Cyttaria Berteroii, adding that this genus is allied to Bulgaria.
stood there as an islet. The contrast of these flat valleys and basins with the irregular mountains, gave the scenery a character which to me was new and very interesting. From the natural slope to seaward of these plains, they are very easily irrigated, and in consequence singularly fertile. Without this process the land would produce scarcely anything, for during the whole summer the sky is cloudless. The mountai…
Darwin cites reports that seaweed grows extremely quickly, describing an experiment where a rock exposed only at spring tides became thickly covered with Fucus digitatus and Fucus esculentus within six months.
four pounds. The Guaso is perhaps more expert with the lazo than the Gaucho; but, from the nature of the country, he does not know the use of the bolas. August 18th.--We descended the mountain, and passed some beautiful little spots, with rivulets and fine trees. Having slept at the same hacienda as before, we rode during the two succeeding days up the valley, and passed through Quillota, which is more like a collec…
Darwin compares peat formation across Chiloé, the Chonos Archipelago, and Tierra del Fuego, attributing peat growth largely to Astelia and describing how climate limits peat and decomposes vegetation.
found on the sterile mountains of central Chile, where a drop of rain does not fall for more than six months, and within the damp forests of these southern islands. In the central parts of the Chonos Archipelago (lat. 45 degs.), the forest has very much the same character with that along the whole west coast, for 600 miles southward to Cape Horn. The arborescent grass of Chiloe is not found here; while the beech of …
At the Galápagos, Darwin characterizes the volcanic geography, thousands of craters, cool ocean-driven climate, and layered vegetation, then lands on Chatham Island to find lava, brushwood, craters, and giant tortoises.
of Fernando Noronha, placed in many respects under nearly similar conditions, is the only other country where I have seen a vegetation at all like this of the Galapagos Islands. The Beagle sailed round Chatham Island, and anchored in several bays. One night I slept on shore on a part of the island, where black truncated cones were extraordinarily numerous: from one small eminence I counted sixty of them, all surmoun…
He details tortoise (Testudo nigra) life on Galapagos—habitats, feeding on cactus, berries, and lichen, their strong need to drink at central springs, and the seasonal/behavioral patterns of watering journeys.
various trees, a kind of berry (called guayavita) which is acid and austere, and likewise a pale green filamentous lichen (Usnera plicata), that hangs from the boughs of the trees. The tortoise is very fond of water, drinking large quantities, and wallowing in the mud. The larger islands alone possess springs, and these are always situated towards the central parts, and at a considerable height. The tortoises, the…
Darwin explains terrestrial Amblyrhynchus feeding and water scarcity, noting cactus consumption, bird coexistence on cactus, and stomach contents dominated by plant fibers and acacia leaves; he also reports eggs in burrows and human culinary use.
greatly astonished, and soon shuffled up to see what was the matter; and then stared me in the face, as much as to say, "What made you pull my tail?" They feed by day, and do not wander far from their burrows; if frightened, they rush to them with a most awkward gait. Except when running down hill, they cannot move very fast, apparently from the lateral position of their legs. They are not at all timorous: when att…
Darwin describes the Galapagos insects as sparse and mostly small, then gives botanical counts from flowering and cryptogamic plants, arguing the archipelago forms a distinct botanical province.
quarter of the world, three great conchological sea-provinces, quite distinct, though surprisingly near each other, being separated by long north and south spaces either of land or of open sea. I took great pains in collecting the insects, but excepting Tierra del Fuego, I never saw in this respect so poor a country. Even in the upper and damp region I procured very few, excepting some minute Diptera and Hymenoptera…
Using Dr. J. Hooker’s data, Darwin presents a table and examples showing that many Galapagos plants are confined to single islands, with genera like Scalesia having non-overlapping island species.
some respects confirming the results, plainly show that much remains to be done in the botany of this group: the Leguminosae, moreover, has as yet been only approximately worked out:-- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Species …
He describes Tahiti’s geography and agriculture on coastal alluvium within a coral reef, notes imported vegetation like guava turning weedy, and praises Tahitians’ mild expression, hospitality, and tattoo culture.
on the road, and gave us a very friendly reception. After sitting a very short time in his house, we separated to walk about, but returned there in the evening. The land capable of cultivation, is scarcely in any part more than a fringe of low alluvial soil, accumulated round the base of the mountains, and protected from the waves of the sea by a coral reef, which encircles the entire line of coast. Within the reef…
They produce fire by friction using hibiscus tiliareus wood, cook meat and greens by burying parcels of food in hot stones under earth, and Darwin inventories edible plants and stream life in the ravine.
rafters, and the large leaf of the banana for a thatch, the Tahitians in a few minutes built us an excellent house; and with withered leaves made a soft bed. They then proceeded to make a fire, and cook our evening meal. A light was procured, by rubbing a blunt pointed stick in a groove made in another, as if with intention of deepening it, until by the friction the dust became ignited. A peculiarly white and very …
He measures kauri pine dimensions, describes valuable kauri timber and exported resin, notes forest penetration difficulty and few birds, claims no indigenous mammals aside from a rat, and criticizes invasive weeds like leek and dock.
market. The children of the missionaries, who came while young to the island, understand the language better than their parents, and can get anything more readily done by the natives. A little before noon Messrs. Williams and Davies walked with me to a part of a neighbouring forest, to show me the famous kauri pine. I measured one of the noble trees, and found it thirty-one feet in circumference above the roots. Th…
He gives natural history of the Keeling Islands, stressing their scant flora due to coral composition, then explains how seeds are transported by ocean drift and monsoon winds from Sumatra, Java, and elsewhere.
of a refuge for the destitute: Professor Henslow informs me that of the twenty species nineteen belong to different genera, and these again to no less than sixteen families! [1] In Holman's [2] Travels an account is given, on the authority of Mr. A. S. Keating, who resided twelve months on these islands, of the various seeds and other bodies which have been known to have been washed on shore. "Seeds and plants from…
On April 6th (later that day), Darwin continues shore and lagoon observations: coral-grove death from changing lagoon levels, a puzzling greenstone pebble linked to tree-root drift, and the cocoa-nut island landscape and crab ecology.
native element, where, after a certain time, a new shell is formed; it is, however, too thin to be of any service, and the animal always appears languishing and sickly." When we arrived at the head of the lagoon, we crossed a narrow islet, and found a great surf breaking on the windward coast. I can hardly explain the reason, but there is to my mind much grandeur in the view of the outer shores of these lagoon-isla…
Darwin details how a large crab opens tough coconut husks with pincers, its diet and edible value, distribution across Indian Ocean islands, and stinging Millepora corals and grazing parrotfish shaping lagoon mud.
of the vital laws, conquering the great mechanical power of the waves of an ocean which neither the art of man nor the inanimate works of nature could successfully resist. We did not return on board till late in the evening, for we stayed a long time in the lagoon, examining the fields of coral and the gigantic shells of the chama, into which, if a man were to put his hand, he would not, as long as the animal lived,…
Darwin argues that reef-building corals only survive down to about 20–30 fathoms, so Pacific and Indian coral atolls must have formed on shallow foundations that later subsided.
well as in the crater-theory, a most important consideration has been overlooked, namely, on what have the reef-building corals, which cannot live at a great depth, based their massive structures? Numerous soundings were carefully taken by Captain Fitz Roy on the steep outside of Keeling atoll, and it was found that within ten fathoms, the prepared tallow at the bottom of the lead, invariably came up marked with the…
On St. Helena, Darwin examines geology, imported and indigenous plants, and explains the probable extinction of land-shells (Cochlogena) after early-1700s woodland destruction, linking ecology to animal introductions.
well. The many imported species must have destroyed some of the native kinds; and it is only on the highest and steepest ridges that the indigenous Flora is now predominant. The English, or rather Welsh character of the scenery, is kept up by the numerous cottages and small white houses; some buried at the bottom of the deepest valleys, and others mounted on the crests of the lofty hills. Some of the views are stri…
Darwin recounts documentary history of St. Helena’s Great Wood converting to wire grass between 1716 and 1724, credits goats and hogs for killing saplings, and infers downstream effects on insects and land-shell extinctions.
extinction has probably been caused by the entire destruction of the woods, and the consequent loss of food and shelter, which occurred during the early part of the last century. The history of the changes, which the elevated plains of Longwood and Deadwood have undergone, as given in General Beatson's account of the island, is extremely curious. Both plains, it is said in former times were covered with wood, and we…
Locke distinguishes identity in plants from identity in mere masses of matter, arguing an oak remains the same plant through a continuous organized life despite continual replacement of material particles.
5. Identity of Vegetables. We must therefore consider wherein an oak differs from a mass of matter, and that seems to me to be in this, that the one is only the cohesion of particles of matter any how united, the other such a disposition of them as constitutes the parts of an oak; and such an organization of those parts as is fit to receive and distribute nourishment, so as to continue and frame the wood, bark, and …
Locke argues that confusion from inconsistent word-use could be reduced if naturalists recorded which simple ideas define each natural kind, but since that’s impractical, people should at least clarify how they use substance-terms.
25. Not easy to be made so. It were therefore to be wished, That men versed in physical inquiries, and acquainted with the several sorts of natural bodies, would set down those simple ideas wherein they observe the individuals of each sort constantly to agree. This would remedy a great deal of that confusion which comes from several persons applying the same name to a collection of a smaller or greater number of sen…
A long scholarly note expands on the poisonous plant (Erba) associated with rhubarb mountains, comparing similar toxins reported in India, Himalaya routes, and botany discussions, and speculating about Polo’s cause of livestock injuries.
which he saved the lives of a great number of Mongols, when, a short time after, an epidemic broke out in the army.” (*D’Ohsson*, I. 372.—_Rockhill, Rubruck_, p. 193, note.) “With respect to rhubarb ... the *Suchowchi* also makes the remark, that the best rhubarb, with golden flowers in the breaking, is gathered in this province (district of *Shan-tan*), and that it is equally beneficial to men and beasts, pre…
The editor reports observations on large Shan-tung pears, cites 19th-century opinions that they may correspond to Chinese quince, and discusses interpretations of yellow and white peaches.
a city of very great trade. And to this city all the traders of the country come to trade; and greatly it aboundeth in all manner of merchandize.” (*Ib.* 244–245.) *John Marignolli* (in China 1342–1347):—“Now Manzi is a country which has countless cities and nations included in it, past all belief to one who has not seen them.... And among the rest is that most famous city of CAMPSAY, the finest, the biggest, …
Further routing notes extend the itinerary toward Zaytun and Tyunju, summarize evidence about cremation customs in Fujian, and add ethnographic notes on food preferences and bamboos.
Kinsay (Hang-chau), Tanpiju (Shao-hing fu), Vuju (Kin-hwa fu), Ghiuju (K’iu-chau fu), Chan-shan (Sui-chang hien), Cuju (Ch’u-chau), Ke-lin-fu (Kien-ning fu), Unken (Hu-kwan), Fuju (Fu-chau), Zayton (Kayten, Hai-t’au), Zayton (Ts’iuen-chau), Tyunju (Tek-hwa). Regarding the burning of the dead, Mr. Phillips (*T’oung Pao*, VI. p. 454) quotes the following passage from a notice by M. Jaubert. “The town of Zaitun is …
The editor discusses Marco Polo’s “tree-like” cotton in Korzamin and Chhatur within Siwi, comparing it to Indian cotton species, their uses, and plausible heights, citing botanical authorities and encyclopedias.
describing the wonders of Síwí, says: “In Korzamin and Chhatur, which are districts of Siwi, cotton-plants grow as large as trees, insomuch that men pick the cotton mounted” (p. 237). These would appear to have been plants of the species of true cotton called by Royle *Gossipium arboreum*, and sometimes termed *G. religiosum*, from its being often grown in South India near temples or abodes of devotees; though…
The editor extends the incense discussion by listing multiple gum-resin producing plants (Gardenia lucida, Bdellium/Mukul, and Canarium), and debates which one best matches Polo’s “brown incense,” adding “costus” exports.
III. *Gardenia lucida* (Roxb.). It grows in the Konkan districts, producing a fragrant resin called *Dikamáli* in India, and by the Arabs *Kankham*. IV. *Balsamodendron Mukul*, growing in Sind, Kattiawár and the Deesa District, and producing the Indian *Bdellium*, *Muḳl* of the Arabs and Persians, used as an incense and as a cordial medicine. It is believed to be the Βδέλλα mentioned in the *Periplus* as exp…