* * * * *

TO DR. W.B. HEMSLEY


_Frith Hill, Godalming. September 13, 1888._

Dear Mr. Hemsley,--Many thanks for your interesting letter. The facts
you state seem quite to support the usual view, that thorns and spines
have been developed as a protection against other animals. The few spiny
plants in New Zealand may be for protection against land molluscs, of
which there are several species as large as any in the tropics. Of
course in Australia we should expect only a comparative scarcity of
spines, as there are many herbivorous marsupials in the
country.--Believe me yours very faithfully,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

The next and several of the succeeding letters refer to the translations
of Weismann's "Essays upon Heredity and Kindred Biological Problems"
(Oxford, 1889), and to "Darwinism" (London, 1889).


TO PROF. POULTON


_Frith Hill, Godalming. November 4, 1888._