DOCSLIB.ORG

Sede Amministrativa: Università Degli Studi Di Padova Dipartimento Di Filosofia

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sede Amministrativa: Università Degli Studi Di Padova Dipartimento Di Filosofia Sede Amministrativa: Università degli Studi di Padova Dipartimento di filosofia ___________________________________________________________________ CORSO DI DOTTORATO DI RICERCA IN FILOSOFIA CICLO XXXI TITOLO TESI DARWIN’S CONTRIVANCES: ORCHIDS, EVOLUTION AND SCIENTIFIC ETHICS IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE OF XIX CENTURY Coordinatore: Ch.mo Prof. Francesca Menegoni Supervisore: Ch.mo Prof. Fabio Grigenti Dottorando : Antonio Danese INDEX 0 INTRODUCTION 5 0.1 Topic 5 0.2 Why Orchids? 9 0.3 Structure of the work 12 1 THE DARWINIAN THEORY 14 1.1 The origin of the origin of species 14 1.2 The first concept of species 16 1.3 The renouncement of immutability and the problem of classification 18 1.4 Variation 23 1.5 The ecological context and the tree of life 26 1.6 New way of observing nature 28 2 FORERUNNERS OF DARWIN IN THE BOTANICAL FIELD 29 2.1 Cell and transmutation 31 2.2 The molecular basis for the development of life sciences 31 2.3 The starting points for Darwinian botany 33 3 THE WORK ON PLANT SCIENCES 35 3.1 The botanist Darwin 36 3.2 The movements of climbing plants 40 3.3 The insectivorous plants 43 3.4 Cross-self fertilisation 45 3.5 The different forms of flowers on plants of the same species 46 3.6 The power of movement in plants 49 4 ORCHIDS IN VICTORIAN AGE 52 4.1 Classification of new species of orchids 53 4.2 Linnaeus 54 4.3 Orchids, society, and literature 56 4.4 Darwin and orchids 59 5 THE ORIGIN OF On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing 62 5.1 The beginning of a paper 63 5.2 Aims of the book 67 6 CLASSIFICATION IN On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing 74 6.1 Different way of classifying 75 6.2 The limits of morphological analysis 83 6.3 Doctrine of homologies 87 6.4 Three genera in one species 96 6.5 Conclusion 104 7 CONTRIVANCES IN COEVOLUTIONARY CONTEXT 108 7.1 The development of the concept in the book 109 7.2 Adaptation, natural selection e observational predictions 112 8 TELEOLOGY 117 8.1 The debate 118 8.2 Contrivances 120 8.3 New explanatory possibilities opened by the presence of randomness 122 8.4 Change of function over time 124 8.5 Conclusion 127 9 SPRENGEL 130 9.1 Brown 131 9.2 Sprengel’s observations 134 9.3 Darwin on Sprengel 137 10 THE USE OF IMAGES IN On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing 140 10.1 The work inside the book 140 11.2 Differences from the previous tradition 145 11 THE MISTAKES OF The Origin of Species 147 11.1 First judgements 148 11.2 Inductives and analogical mistakes 151 11.3 The weakness of transmutational theories 155 11.4 The Darwin’s inductive malpractice 158 11.5 The reasons of those who thought of it as did Sedgwick 161 11.6 First attempts of defence of Darwinian method 166 12 THE CONVERSION OF BOTANISTS 169 12.1 Orchid book 170 12.2 Miles Joseph Berkeley 172 12.3 Joseph Hooker 173 12.4 Charles Lyell 175 12.5 Asa Gray 176 12.6 George Bentham 179 12. 7 Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny 183 12.8 John Hutton Balfour 186 12.9 Philip Henry Gosse 187 12.10 William Henry Harvey 189 12.11 James Anderson 192 12.12 Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen 194 12.13 Daniel Oliver 197 12.14 John Lubbock 198 12.15 John Scott 201 12.16 John Traherne Moggridge 203 12.17 Mordecai Cubitt Cooke 205 12.18 John Ellor Taylor 206 12.19 Thomas Frederic Cheeseman 208 12.20 Hermann Müller 209 12.21 Friedrich Hildebrand 211 12.22 Federico Delpino 213 12.23 Fritz Müller 216 12.24 Roland Trimen 223 13 CONCLUSION 226 14 BIBLIOGRAPHY 228 INTRODUCTION Topic My research deals with the historical and scientific context that frames the reception of the book On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilized by Insects and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing.1 The historical study of this work carried out in this thesis shows the traditions of thought that shaped natural history in the nineteenth century and reconstructs the lines of evolutionary research that converge in Darwin and depart from him, being later synthesised in the works of countless other botanists. Indeed, in the second half of the nineteenth century, Darwin placed himself at the centre of a group of botanists including Fritz Müller,2 Federico Delpino,3 Asa Gray,4 Friedrich Hildebrand,5 Joseph Dalton Hooker,6 the Swedish Severin Axell7 and later Herman Müller.8 1 Darwin, 1877. 2 Johann Friedrich Theodor Müller (1821–1897) studied at universities in Berlin and Greifswald and obtained a doctoral degree in biology. He then started to study medicine, but after the failure of the Prussian Revolution, to avoid dangerous complications for his life and career, he emigrated in 1852 to Brazil, where he dedicated himself to studying life in Atlantic forests and to teaching. 3 Federico Delpino (1833–1905) was an Italian botanist and assistant professor to Giuseppe Parlatore. In 1871, he became professor of natural sciences and decided to become the naturalist for the battleship Garibaldi in a research voyage around the world. From 1875 to 1884, he was professor at university of Genua, and then he moved to Napoli as headmaster of faculty of sciences. 4 Asa Gray (1810–1888) was a great American botanist and professor of botany at Harvard university: He graduated in medicine and later became a naturalist. From 1836 to July of 1838, he was involved in United States Exploring Expedition, and then, although the expedtition had been a difficult experience, he continued to travel around Europe to examine American flora in Europe’s herbarium, to find books and documents, and to build international relations with other eminent botanists and professors. He received the honorary degree of Master of Arts in 1844 and Doctor of Laws in 1875 from Harvard, as well as Doctor of Laws from Hamilton College at New York in 1860, from McGill University in 1884, and from the University of Michigan in 1887. The most famous of his numerous pubications was the Manual of the Botany in the Northern United States, known as “Gray’s Manual”, a landmark in the botanical taxonomy of North America. As a professor at Harvard, he devoted himself to building up and looking after plant collections and what is still today called the “Gray Herbarium”. He was one of Charles Darwin’s contemporaries, and they exchanged opinions and information that proved useful for Darwin’s work. After the publication of The Origin of Species, Gray became a staunch defender’s of Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection, even publishing a collection of essays called Darwiniana. In this book, as well as promoting the theories of evolution, he also expressed the hope that there would be reconciliation between these theories and orthodox Christian beliefs, which at that time were considered to be mutually exclusive. 5 Hildebrand was a German botanist (1835–1915), a teacher at Bonn University (1859), and later a professor in Fribourg from 1868 to 1907. He developed several branches of botany, in particular of flower ecology. One of the most important work was Die Lebensverhältnisse der Oxalis-Arten (1884). 6 Hooker (1817–1911) was an internationally renowed botanist and one of the first British men of science to become a full-time professional. The son of Sir William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Kew Gardens in London, he worked with his father from a very young age, collecting plants and taking part in expeditions. Followed his father’s path, he become the director of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, and he was involved in several voyages: to the Antarctic (1839–1843), Himalayas and India (1847–1851), Palestine (1860), Marocco (1871), and in the western United States (1877). He is renowned as the founder of geographical botany. He was made a baronet for the publication of his massive encyclopaedia on plants: in 1865 he was appointed director of Kew Gardens, and from 1873 to 1878, he was president of the Royal Society. He was a close friend and early supporter of Charles Darwin. 7 Axell (1843–1892), after earning a degree in medicine, studied botanical sciences. To complete his PhD, he wrote the dissertation De Fanerogama Vaxternas Befruktning, a pivotal dissertation, being one of the first in Sweden to deal with impollination of flowers in sophisticated detail and, at the same time, a book inspired by Darwin’s work on orchids. 8 Hermann Müller was professor in the Realschule at Lippstadt in Westphalia, born at Mühlberg in Thuringia on September 23, 1829, died at Prad in the Tyrol on August 25, 1883. At this point in history, Darwin becomes the centre of an international network concerning pollination ecology: He pays for translations of works of foreign scientists9 and becomes the conductor of an international network made up of different philosophical and religious orientations underlying the works of the various authors. It was a tradition of international research that dealt with the understanding of the floral morphology and ecological interactions between pollinating insects and plants from an evolutionary point of view. This tradition of scholars began to publish their work according to an evolutionary perspective after Darwin sent two communications to the Linnean Society10 and then published his book on orchids.11 However, others almost immediately preceded and followed these more illustrious names.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Charles Alfred Ernest Sheaf
    Sir John Struthers PRCSEd 1895-7 (includes printed articles by his son, John William Struthers PRCSEd 1941-3) Reference and contact details: GB779 RCSEd GD/4 Location: RS R3 Title: Sir John Struthers Dates of Creation: 1839-1950 Held at: The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Extent: 460 items Name of Creator: Sir John Struthers (& J W Struthers) Language of Material: English. Level of Description: item Administrative/Biographical History: John Struthers (1823-1899) was born in Dunfermline, the second of three brothers, all of whom entered the medical profession. He took up surgery and was appointed to the Royal Infirmary following graduation. After a few years he abandoned surgery in favour of anatomy and was in time appointed Professor of Anatomy at Aberdeen. He held this post for 26 years, during which time he reorganised the whole teaching of anatomy and created an excellent museum of anatomy. After retiring from his Chair in Aberdeen he returned to Edinburgh where he devoted his energies to the Royal College of Surgeons. He was President from 1895 to 1897 and was knighted in 1898. In 1899 the Struthers Lecture was inaugurated and was given every third year until 1974. His son, John William Struthers M.D., LL.D. FRCSEd was President of the College from 1941-1943 UNIVERSITY NOTICES, 1839-59 GD4/1 1839, April 22nd Printed copies (4) of Bill introducing increased lecture fees in the department of Anatomy at the Edinburgh Medical School for the winter season, 1839-40. [4 sheets] GD4/2 1842, April Copy of the address given to students by Richard Huie, PRCSEd (1840-42), at the prize giving of the Edinburgh Medical School.
    [Show full text]
  • Charles Darwin: a Companion
    CHARLES DARWIN: A COMPANION Charles Darwin aged 59. Reproduction of a photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron, original 13 x 10 inches, taken at Dumbola Lodge, Freshwater, Isle of Wight in July 1869. The original print is signed and authenticated by Mrs Cameron and also signed by Darwin. It bears Colnaghi's blind embossed registration. [page 3] CHARLES DARWIN A Companion by R. B. FREEMAN Department of Zoology University College London DAWSON [page 4] First published in 1978 © R. B. Freeman 1978 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher: Wm Dawson & Sons Ltd, Cannon House Folkestone, Kent, England Archon Books, The Shoe String Press, Inc 995 Sherman Avenue, Hamden, Connecticut 06514 USA British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Freeman, Richard Broke. Charles Darwin. 1. Darwin, Charles – Dictionaries, indexes, etc. 575′. 0092′4 QH31. D2 ISBN 0–7129–0901–X Archon ISBN 0–208–01739–9 LC 78–40928 Filmset in 11/12 pt Bembo Printed and bound in Great Britain by W & J Mackay Limited, Chatham [page 5] CONTENTS List of Illustrations 6 Introduction 7 Acknowledgements 10 Abbreviations 11 Text 17–309 [page 6] LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Charles Darwin aged 59 Frontispiece From a photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron Skeleton Pedigree of Charles Robert Darwin 66 Pedigree to show Charles Robert Darwin's Relationship to his Wife Emma 67 Wedgwood Pedigree of Robert Darwin's Children and Grandchildren 68 Arms and Crest of Robert Waring Darwin 69 Research Notes on Insectivorous Plants 1860 90 Charles Darwin's Full Signature 91 [page 7] INTRODUCTION THIS Companion is about Charles Darwin the man: it is not about evolution by natural selection, nor is it about any other of his theoretical or experimental work.
    [Show full text]
  • Evolution of Unusual Morphologies in Lentibulariaceae (Bladderworts and Allies) And
    Annals of Botany 117: 811–832, 2016 doi:10.1093/aob/mcv172, available online at www.aob.oxfordjournals.org REVIEW: PART OF A SPECIAL ISSUE ON DEVELOPMENTAL ROBUSTNESS AND SPECIES DIVERSITY Evolution of unusual morphologies in Lentibulariaceae (bladderworts and allies) and Podostemaceae (river-weeds): a pictorial report at the interface of developmental biology and morphological diversification Rolf Rutishauser* Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland * For correspondence. E-mail [email protected] Received: 30 July 2015 Returned for revision: 19 August 2015 Accepted: 25 September 2015 Published electronically: 20 November 2015 Background Various groups of flowering plants reveal profound (‘saltational’) changes of their bauplans (archi- tectural rules) as compared with related taxa. These plants are known as morphological misfits that appear as rather Downloaded from large morphological deviations from the norm. Some of them emerged as morphological key innovations (perhaps ‘hopeful monsters’) that gave rise to new evolutionary lines of organisms, based on (major) genetic changes. Scope This pictorial report places emphasis on released bauplans as typical for bladderworts (Utricularia,approx. 230 secies, Lentibulariaceae) and river-weeds (Podostemaceae, three subfamilies, approx. 54 genera, approx. 310 species). Bladderworts (Utricularia) are carnivorous, possessing sucking traps. They live as submerged aquatics (except for their flowers), as humid terrestrials or as epiphytes. Most Podostemaceae are restricted to rocks in tropi- http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/ cal river-rapids and waterfalls. They survive as submerged haptophytes in these extreme habitats during the rainy season, emerging with their flowers afterwards. The recent scientific progress in developmental biology and evolu- tionary history of both Lentibulariaceae and Podostemaceae is summarized.
    [Show full text]
  • A Biographical Index of British and Irish Botanists
    L Biographical Index of British and Irish Botanists. TTTEN & BOULGER, A BIOaEAPHICAL INDEX OF BKITISH AND IRISH BOTANISTS. BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX OF BRITISH AND IRISH BOTANISTS COMPILED BY JAMES BEITTEN, F.L.S. SENIOR ASSISTANT, DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY, BBITISH MUSEUM AKD G. S. BOULGEE, E.L. S., F. G. S. PROFESSOR OF BOTANY, CITY OF LONDON COLLEGE LONDON WEST, NEWMAN & CO 54 HATTON GARDEN 1893 LONDON PRINTED BY WEST, NEWMAN AND HATTON GAEDEN PEEFACE. A FEW words of explanation as to the object and scope of this Index may fitly appear as an introduction to the work. It is intended mainly as a guide to further information, and not as a bibliography or biography. We have been liberal in including all who have in any way contributed to the literature of Botany, who have made scientific collections of plants, or have otherwise assisted directly in the progress of Botany, exclusive of pure Horticulture. We have not, as a rule, included those who were merely patrons of workers, or those known only as contributing small details to a local Flora. Where known, the name is followed by the years of birth and death, which, when uncertain, are marked with a ? or c. [circa) ; or merely approximate dates of "flourishing" are given. Then follows the place and day of bu'th and death, and the place of burial ; a brief indication of social position or occupation, espe- cially in the cases of artisan botanists and of professional collectors; chief university degrees, or other titles or offices held, and dates of election to the Linnean and Eoyal Societies.
    [Show full text]
  • Karl Jordan: a Life in Systematics
    AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Kristin Renee Johnson for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History of SciencePresented on July 21, 2003. Title: Karl Jordan: A Life in Systematics Abstract approved: Paul Lawrence Farber Karl Jordan (1861-1959) was an extraordinarily productive entomologist who influenced the development of systematics, entomology, and naturalists' theoretical framework as well as their practice. He has been a figure in existing accounts of the naturalist tradition between 1890 and 1940 that have defended the relative contribution of naturalists to the modem evolutionary synthesis. These accounts, while useful, have primarily examined the natural history of the period in view of how it led to developments in the 193 Os and 40s, removing pre-Synthesis naturalists like Jordan from their research programs, institutional contexts, and disciplinary homes, for the sake of synthesis narratives. This dissertation redresses this picture by examining a naturalist, who, although often cited as important in the synthesis, is more accurately viewed as a man working on the problems of an earlier period. This study examines the specific problems that concerned Jordan, as well as the dynamic institutional, international, theoretical and methodological context of entomology and natural history during his lifetime. It focuses upon how the context in which natural history has been done changed greatly during Jordan's life time, and discusses the role of these changes in both placing naturalists on the defensive among an array of new disciplines and attitudes in science, and providing them with new tools and justifications for doing natural history. One of the primary intents of this study is to demonstrate the many different motives and conditions through which naturalists came to and worked in natural history.
    [Show full text]
  • Generic and Subtribal Relationships in Neotropical Cymbidieae (Orchidaceae) Based on Matk/Ycf1 Plastid Data
    LANKESTERIANA 13(3): 375—392. 2014. I N V I T E D P A P E R* GENERIC AND SUBTRIBAL RELATIONSHIPS IN NEOTROPICAL CYMBIDIEAE (ORCHIDACEAE) BASED ON MATK/YCF1 PLASTID DATA W. MARK WHITTEN1,2, KURT M. NEUBIG1 & N. H. WILLIAMS1 1Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611-7800 USA 2Corresponding author: [email protected] ABSTRACT. Relationships among all subtribes of Neotropical Cymbidieae (Orchidaceae) were estimated using combined matK/ycf1 plastid sequence data for 289 taxa. The matrix was analyzed using RAxML. Bootstrap (BS) analyses yield 100% BS support for all subtribes except Stanhopeinae (87%). Generic relationships within subtribes are highly resolved and are generally congruent with those presented in previous studies and as summarized in Genera Orchidacearum. Relationships among subtribes are largely unresolved. The Szlachetko generic classification of Maxillariinae is not supported. A new combination is made for Maxillaria cacaoensis J.T.Atwood in Camaridium. KEY WORDS: Orchidaceae, Cymbidieae, Maxillariinae, matK, ycf1, phylogenetics, Camaridium, Maxillaria cacaoensis, Vargasiella Cymbidieae include many of the showiest align nrITS sequences across the entire tribe was Neotropical epiphytic orchids and an unparalleled unrealistic due to high levels of sequence divergence, diversity in floral rewards and pollination systems. and instead to concentrate our efforts on assembling Many researchers have posed questions such as a larger plastid data set based on two regions (matK “How many times and when has male euglossine and ycf1) that are among the most variable plastid bee pollination evolved?”(Ramírez et al. 2011), or exon regions and can be aligned with minimal “How many times have oil-reward flowers evolved?” ambiguity across broad taxonomic spans.
    [Show full text]
  • Former Fellows Biographical Index Part
    Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783 – 2002 Biographical Index Part Two ISBN 0 902198 84 X Published July 2006 © The Royal Society of Edinburgh 22-26 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2PQ BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX OF FORMER FELLOWS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 1783 – 2002 PART II K-Z C D Waterston and A Macmillan Shearer This is a print-out of the biographical index of over 4000 former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh as held on the Society’s computer system in October 2005. It lists former Fellows from the foundation of the Society in 1783 to October 2002. Most are deceased Fellows up to and including the list given in the RSE Directory 2003 (Session 2002-3) but some former Fellows who left the Society by resignation or were removed from the roll are still living. HISTORY OF THE PROJECT Information on the Fellowship has been kept by the Society in many ways – unpublished sources include Council and Committee Minutes, Card Indices, and correspondence; published sources such as Transactions, Proceedings, Year Books, Billets, Candidates Lists, etc. All have been examined by the compilers, who have found the Minutes, particularly Committee Minutes, to be of variable quality, and it is to be regretted that the Society’s holdings of published billets and candidates lists are incomplete. The late Professor Neil Campbell prepared from these sources a loose-leaf list of some 1500 Ordinary Fellows elected during the Society’s first hundred years. He listed name and forenames, title where applicable and national honours, profession or discipline, position held, some information on membership of the other societies, dates of birth, election to the Society and death or resignation from the Society and reference to a printed biography.
    [Show full text]
  • “Dynamic Speciation Processes in the Mediterranean Orchid Genus Ophrys L
    “DYNAMIC SPECIATION PROCESSES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN ORCHID GENUS OPHRYS L. (ORCHIDACEAE)” Tesi di Dottorato in Biologia Avanzata, XXIV ciclo (Indirizzo Sistematica Molecolare) Universitá degli Studi di Napoli Federico II Facoltá di Scienze Matematiche, Fisiche e Naturali Dipartimento di Biologia Strutturale e Funzionale 1st supervisor: Prof. Salvatore Cozzolino 2nd supervisor: Prof. Serena Aceto PhD student: Dott. Hendrik Breitkopf 1 Cover picture: Pseudo-copulation of a Colletes cunicularius male on a flower of Ophrys exaltata ssp. archipelagi (Marina di Lesina, Italy. H. Breitkopf, 2011). 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS GENERAL INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: MULTI-LOCUS NUCLEAR GENE PHYLOGENY OF THE SEXUALLY DECEPTIVE ORCHID GENUS OPHRYS L. (ORCHIDACEAE) CHAPTER 2: ANALYSIS OF VARIATION AND SPECIATION IN THE OPHRYS SPHEGODES SPECIES COMPLEX CHAPTER 3: FLORAL ISOLATION IS THE MAIN REPRODUCTIVE BARRIER AMONG CLOSELY RELATED SEXUALLY DECEPTIVE ORCHIDS CHAPTER 4: SPECIATION BY DISTURBANCE: A POPULATION STUDY OF CENTRAL ITALIAN OPHRYS SPHEGODES LINEAGES CONTRIBUTION OF CO-AUTHORS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3 GENERAL INTRODUCTION ORCHIDS With more than 22.000 accepted species in 880 genera (Pridgeon et al. 1999), the family of the Orchidaceae is the largest family of angiosperm plants. Recently discovered fossils document their existence for at least 15 Ma. The last common ancestor of all orchids has been estimated to exist about 80 Ma ago (Ramirez et al. 2007, Gustafsson et al. 2010). Orchids are cosmopolitan, distributed on all continents and a great variety of habitats, ranging from deserts and swamps to arctic regions. Two large groups can be distinguished: Epiphytic and epilithic orchids attach themselves with aerial roots to trees or stones, mostly halfway between the ground and the upper canopy where they absorb water through the velamen of their roots.
    [Show full text]
  • Charles Darwin's
    GORDON CHANCELLOR AND JOHN VAN WYHE This book is the first-ever full edition of the notebooks used by Charles Darwin during his epic voyage in the Beagle. Darwin’s Beagle notebooks are the most direct sources we have for CHANCELLOR VAN WYHE VAN his experiences on this journey, and they now survive as some of the most precious CHARLES DARWIN’S documents in the history of science and exploration, written by the man who later used these notes to develop one of the greatest scientific theories of all time. notebooks from the voyage The book contains complete transcriptions of the 15 notebooks which Darwin used over the 5 years of the voyage to record his ‘on the spot’ geological and general observations. of the ‘beagle’ Unlike the many other documents that he also created, the field notebooks are not confined to any one subject or genre. Instead, they record the full range of his interests and activities foreword by during the voyage, with notes and observations on geology, zoology, botany, ecology, weather notebooks from the voyage notes, barometer and thermometer readings, depth soundings, ethnography, anthropology, CHARLES DARWIN’S RICHARD DARWIN archaeology and linguistics, along with maps, drawings, financial records, shopping lists, KEYNES reading notes, memoranda, theoretical essays and personal diary entries. of the ‘beagle’ Some of Darwin’s critical discoveries and experiences, made famous through his own publications, are recorded in their most immediate form in the notebooks, and published here for the very first time. The notebook texts are accompanied by full editorial apparatus and introductions which explain in detail Darwin’s actions at each stage of the voyage, and focus on discoveries which were pivotal to convincing him that life on Earth had evolved.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Charles Darwin's Notebooks from the Voyage of the `Beagle`. Transcribed, Edited and Introduced by Gordon Chancellor and John
    Charles Darwin’s Notebooks from the Voyage of the `Beagle`. Transcribed, edited and introduced by Gordon Chancellor and John van Wythe. xxxiii + 615 pp. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 2009. $ 150 (cloth). Until now, it has not been possible to read in book form the immediate notes that Darwin himself had written during his 1832-1836 voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. Darwin’s Beagle records comprised five different kinds: field notebooks, personal diary, geological and zoological diaries, and specimen catalogues. Unlike the many other documents that Darwin created during the voyage, the field notebooks are not confined to any one subject. They contain notes and observations on geology, zoology, botany, ecology, weather notes, barometer and thermometer readings, ethnography, archaeology, and linguistics as well as maps, drawings, financial records, shopping lists, reading notes, and personal entries. The editors described the notebooks as the most difficult and complex of all of Darwin’s manuscripts. They were for the most part written in pencil which was often faint or smeared. They were generally not written while sitting at a desk but held in one hand, on mule or horseback or on the deck of the Beagle. Furthermore the lines were very short and much was not written in complete sentences. Added to this, they were full of Darwin’s chaotic spelling of foreign names so the handwriting was sometimes very difficult to decipher. Alternative readings were often possible. Darwin did not number the pages of the notebooks, and often wrote in them at different times from opposite ends. Most of the notebook space was devoted to geological descriptions and drawings, a reflection of Darwin’s interest in the works of Charles Lyell and his previous fieldwork with Adam Sedgwick.
    [Show full text]
  • Floristic Composition of a Neotropical Inselberg from Espírito Santo State, Brazil: an Important Area for Conservation
    13 1 2043 the journal of biodiversity data 11 February 2017 Check List LISTS OF SPECIES Check List 13(1): 2043, 11 February 2017 doi: https://doi.org/10.15560/13.1.2043 ISSN 1809-127X © 2017 Check List and Authors Floristic composition of a Neotropical inselberg from Espírito Santo state, Brazil: an important area for conservation Dayvid Rodrigues Couto1, 6, Talitha Mayumi Francisco2, Vitor da Cunha Manhães1, Henrique Machado Dias4 & Miriam Cristina Alvarez Pereira5 1 Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Museu Nacional, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica, Quinta da Boa Vista, CEP 20940-040, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil 2 Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Laboratório de Ciências Ambientais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, CEP 29013-600, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil 4 Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (CCA/UFES), Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Departamento de Ciências Florestais e da Madeira, Av. Governador Lindemberg, 316, CEP 28550-000, Jerônimo Monteiro, ES, Brazil 5 Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (CCA/UFES), Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Alto Guararema, s/no, CEP 29500-000, Alegre, ES, Brazil 6 Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Our study on granitic and gneissic rock outcrops environmental filters (e.g., total or partial absence of soil, on Pedra dos Pontões in Espírito Santo state contributes to low water retention, nutrient scarcity, difficulty in affixing the knowledge of the vascular flora of inselbergs in south- roots, exposure to wind and heat) that allow these areas eastern Brazil. We registered 211 species distributed among to support a highly specialized flora with sometimes high 51 families and 130 genera.
    [Show full text]
  • A History of Orchids. a History of Discovery, Lust and Wealth
    Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture. Vol. LXIV, No. 1, 2020 Print ISSN 2285-5653, CD-ROM ISSN 2285-5661, Online ISSN 2286-1580, ISSN-L 2285-5653 A HISTORY OF ORCHIDS. A HISTORY OF DISCOVERY, LUST AND WEALTH Nora Eugenia D. G. ANGHELESCU1, Annie BYGRAVE2, Mihaela I. GEORGESCU1, Sorina A. PETRA1, Florin TOMA1 1University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, 59 Mărăști Blvd, District 1, Bucharest, Romania 2Self-employed, London, UK Corresponding author email: [email protected] Abstract Orchidaceae is the second largest families of flowering plants. There are approximately 900 orchid genera comprising between 28,000-32,000 species of orchids. The relationship between orchids and mankind is complex. The history of orchids’ discovery goes hand in hand with the history of humanity, encompassing discovery and adventure, witchcraft and magic, symbolism and occultism, addiction and sacrifice, lust and wealth. Historically, the Chinese were the first to cultivate orchids as medicinal plants, more than 4000 years ago. Gradually, records about orchids spread, reaching the Middle East and Europe. Around 300 B.C., Theophrastus named them for the first time orkhis. In 1737, Carl Linnaeus first used the word Orchidaceae to designate plants with similar features. The family name, Orchidaceae was fully established in 1789, by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu. In 1862, Charles Darwin published the first edition of his book, Fertilisation of Orchids. Darwin considered the adaptations of orchid flowers to their animal pollinators as being among the best examples of his idea of evolution through natural selection. Orchidology was on its way. During the 18th and the 19th centuries, orchids generated the notorious Orchid Fever where orchid-hunters turned the search for orchids into a frantic and obsessive hunt.
    [Show full text]