Wallace's advice to Bates on writing a book
Full transcription
Ceram, Nov. 25th. 1859
Dear Bates
Allow me to congratulate you <…>on your safe arrival home with all your treasures; a good fortune which i Trust is this time reserved for me. i hope you will write to me & tell Me your projects. Stevens hinted at Your undertaking a "fauna of the Amazon valley". It would be a noble Work,- but one requiring years of labour As of course you would wish to Incorporate all existing materials & Would have to spend months in Berlin vienna & milan & paris to Study the collections of spix, natterer Oscolati castituan & others, as well
As most of the chief private coll[ectio]ns.. of Europe. I hope you
may undertake it & bring it to a glorious conclusion. I have long been contemplating
such a work for this Archipelago,- but am convinced that the plan
must be very limited to be capable of completion. It
sh[oul]d. be little more than a synopsis on a uniform scale &
plan, - descriptions in
Latin only for brevity, but with copious introductions &
remarks on families &
genera. My idea also is
that in such a work, it is the duty of an Entomologist to follow
the arrangement of Lacordaire for the Coleoptera,-
even when we differ from him,- as we
sh[oul]d. thus so much facilitate reference
& study, his work being in every ones hands - Excuse these
remarks but the subject interests me - I suppose you have now your
collection pretty well arranged, & I shall be anxious to hear
what is now the total amount of species in the chief families &
orders of insects - You can tell
me also what you think of any collections as far as you can judge in their packed away & perhaps dirty
state. I now keep more duplicates than I first & hope you will
reserve for me a set of your spare Longicornis, Bupresti, Cicindelae Cleri & Brenthi & some types of Genera of
Carabidae & Curculios -
Also in Butterflies, Papilios &
Pieridae.
To these groups I intend to confine my general collections. I have sent a paper lately to the Linnaean Soc. which gives my
views of the principals of Geog.[raphical]
Distribution in the Archipelago,- of which I hope some day
to work out the details. To
judge of any coll[ectio]n. of other orders but Col.[eoptera] &
Butt.[erflies] you must see Mr Saunders collections as he
possesses my complete series, & the Orthoptera Hymenoptera & Diptera must be now very
extensive. Your brother Frederick
began a correspond[en]ce.. with me, but does not go on. Please
write soon - Remain dear Bates
Yours very sincerely
[signed] Alfred R. Wallace
[to] H.W. Bates Esq.
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