_See_
"More Letters," II. 14.
[102] _See_ "The Descent of Man," 1st Edit., pp. 90 and 143, for
drawings of the Argus pheasant and its markings. The ocelli on the wing
feathers were favourite objects of Darwin's, and sometimes formed the
subject of the little lectures which on rare occasions he would give to
a visitor interested in Natural History. In Wallace's book, the meaning
of the ocelli comes in by the way, in the explanation of Plate IX., "A
Malayan Forest with some of its Peculiar Birds." The case is a
"remarkable confirmation of Mr. Darwin's views, that gaily coloured
plumes are developed in the male bird for the purpose of attractive
display."
[103] "Geographical Distribution of Animals," i. 286-7.
[104] "Geographical Distribution," i. 76. The name Lemuria was proposed
by Mr. Sclater for an imaginary submerged continent extending from
Madagascar to Ceylon and Sumatra. Wallace points out that if we confine
ourselves to facts Lemuria is reduced to Madagascar, which he makes a
subdivision of the Ethiopian Region.
[105] H.F. Blandford, "On the Age and Correlations of the Plant-bearing
Series of India and the Former Existence of an Indo-Oceanic Continent"
(_Quart.
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