The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online

RECORD: Darwin, C. R. 1857.11.07. My doubt whether forms change quite insensibly or by a variety being formed & supplanting old parent forms. CUL-DAR205.9.331. Edited by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and edited by John van Wyhe 10.2021. RN1

NOTE: This note is interestingly relevant to comparisons with the original evolutionary theory of A. R. Wallace published by in 1858. Wallace proposed that a variety supplanted the parent form.

Reproduced with permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library and William Huxley Darwin. The volume CUL-DAR205.9 contains notes on palaeontology and geology [regarding theory of evolution].

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Nov. 7/ 57/

My doubt whether forms change quite insensibly or by a variety being formed & supplanting old parent forms, (N.B we never perhaps know whether a rare variety may not be the type & the typical forms really the variety, as judged by time: Mem Hooker doubts as Cedar of Lebanon what is type: Mem. Wollaston a var. in one country may be type in other) depends really on amount of crossing: the insensible change may be true with higher, locomotive unisexual animals (& the var. in these generally local) & by vars, supplanting others in plants & shells etc. For alpine plant can hardly cross with lowlanders of same species.

over

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I think history of Pigeons & of Garden Vegetables support this somewhat different kind of origin.

Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)