The whole subject becomes thus much
simplified, though the nature of the basic vitality which leads to such
wonderful results remains as mysterious as ever.--Yours very faithfully,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.
* * * * *
_Pen-y-bryn, St. Peter's Road, Croydon. January 1, 1881._
My dear Darwin,--I have been intending to write to you for some weeks to
call your attention to what seems to me a striking confirmation (or at
all events a support) of my views of the land migration of plants from
mountain to mountain. In _Nature_ of Dec. 9th, p. 126, Mr. Baker, of
Kew, describes a number of the alpine plants of Madagascar as being
_identical species_ with some found on the mountains of Abyssinia, the
Cameroons, and other African mountains. Now, if there is one thing more
clear than another it is that Madagascar has been separated from Africa
since the Miocene (probably the early Miocene) epoch. These plants must
therefore have reached the island either _since_ then, in which case
they certainly must have passed through the air for long distances, or
at the time of the union.
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