Letter to E. S. Marsh recommending several books that describe "vegetable evolution" including Darwin's Origin of Species, Grant Allen's "Flowers and Show moreLetter to E. S. Marsh recommending several books that describe "vegetable evolution" including Darwin's Origin of Species, Grant Allen's "Flowers and their pedigrees" and "Evolutionist at large", and G. H. Lewis' articles on Darwinism in the Fortnightly Review. Includes typewritten transcription. Transcription: "Cambridge, June 10/88 Dear Sir: In my terrible [arrears] of correspondence I have just reached March 1st, the date of your letter. No one has treated the subject of vegetable evolution more fully than Darwin himself. both in his Origin of Species and in his numerous books on plants and their peculiarities. Such a little book as Grant Allen's "Flowers + their Pedigrees" and his "Evolutionist at Large" would have interest for you. It is not necessary to suppose that all organic forms have come from a single organic form, not is it likely. More probably there were at first many (perhaps) myriads) of exceedingly low forms --- too low and too little specialized to be called either animal or vegetal --- from among which only some few were able to [] + give rise to [] types of offspring. There were some suggestive remarks on this by G.H.Lewes in a series of articles as Darwinism in the Fortnightly Review somewhere between 1867 and 1871 Very truly yours John Fiske To E.S. march, Esq." Letter, signed by sender. Sent from Cambridge. The Robert M. Stecher Collection of Charles Darwin Books and Manuscripts Show less
