The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online

RECORD: Darwin, C. R. 30.11.1854. Bentham remarked to me in regard to his list of aberrant genera [relating to CUL-DAR205.9.386]. CUL-DAR205.9.387. Edited by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/).

NOTE: See record in the Darwin Online manuscript catalogue, enter its Identifier here. Reproduced with the 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].

"Bentham, George, 1800-84. Son of Sir Samuel B. Nephew of Jeremy B. Botanist. Biography: Jackson 1906, CD discussed evolution with before Origin. 1844 CD discussed flora of Sandwich Islands with. 1854 B presented his books and herbarium to Kew and worked there daily. 1858 Jul. 28 CD "I have ordered Bentham, for as Babington says it will be very curious to see a Flora written by a man who knows nothing of British plants!!!" CCD7:139. 1858 Jul. 30 "I have got Bentham and am charmed with it". These two quotations refer to Handbook of the British flora, 1858. 1859 Royal Medal Royal Society. 1859 B accepted evolution. 1862 FRS. 1862 B approved of Orchids in his Presidential address to Linnean Society. 1882 B was on "Personal Friends invited" list for CD's funeral. 1882 recollections of CD in DAR112.A5-A7, in Darwin Online." Paul van Helvert and John van Wyhe, Darwin: A Companion, 2021.

A note such as this is interestingly consistent with our knowledge of the fact that Bentham was one of the "very many naturalists" Darwin discussed evolution with in the years before he published his theory. See van Wyhe, Mind the gap and CUL-DAR262.8.1-2.

387

Nov. 30 /54/. Bentham remarked to me in regard to his list of aberrant genera, that in fact it was scarcely possible to tell genera from Family, or latter from a higher group. (This shows by 3, 5, 4, 7 having been taken by Quinarian) & I think he said the Begonia was first a genus, & then when many species were found, it was corrected into a Family, with several genera.—

Now this causes the greatest, scarcely superable difficulty in ascertaining whether the number of species, be small; for if what wd be an aberrant genus, as long as there were few species, was raised into Family,

387v

of course aberrant genera must necessarily have few species. Will it not do to take all groups, & say whether you call them ~~small or great~~ genera, or a families or alliance, yet then ~~an aberrant~~ include less species even than genera, & a fraction less than Families for an average.— But then if this be done, it may be said that they are aberrant merely because they have few species: thus this alone make them aberrant.— Nevertheless I still think & so does Bentham, that there is something in it.—

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