My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 185those of Europe and North America, yet there isnothing on the map or on the face of the islands tomark their limits. The boundary line passes betweenislands closer together than others belonging to thesame group. I believe the western part to be aseparated portion of continental Asia, while theeastern is a fragmentary prolongation of a formerwest Pacific continent. In mammalia and birds thedistinction is marked by genera, families, and evenin insects by a numberorders confined to one region ;of genera, and little groups of peculiar species, thefamilies of insects having generally a very wide oruniversal distribution."This letter proves that at this time I had not theleast idea of the nature of Darwin's proposed work,nor of the definite conclusions he had arrived at, norhad I myself any expectation of a complete solutionof the great problem to which my paper was merelythe prelude. Yet less than two months later thatsolution flashed upon me, and to a large extent markedout a dififerent line of work from that which I had upto this time anticipated.I finished the letter after my arrival at Tern ate(January 25, 1858), and made the following observation" : If you go to the Andes I think you will bedisappointed, at least in the number of species^especially of Coleoptera. My experience here is thatthe low grounds are mitch the most productive, thoughthe mountains generally produce a few striking andbrilliant species." This rather hasty generalizationis, I am inclined still to think, a correct one, at allevents as regards the individual collector. I doubt ifthere is any mountain station in the world where somany species of butterflies can be collected withina walk as at Para, or more beetles than at my station