Sunday, February 9, 2014

My Year of Darwin (2/9/2014)

 Charles Darwin

"It is positively distressing, to walk in the glorious forest, amidst such treasures, & feel they are all thrown away upon one." -Charles Darwin, Letter to Professor J.S. Henslow, July 1832

Upon leaving England, Darwin has visited a number of oceanic islands that were relatively species poor. Selecting representatives to collect was probably easy. But once Darwin steps into the mainland tropics of South America, he's overwhelmed by the diversity. What is rare? What is common? He was obviously flustered.  

No comments:

Post a Comment