Tropical Nature, and Other EssaysRead Books Ltd, 25. mai 2016 - 418 pages This early work by Alfred Russel Wallace was originally published in 1878 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Tropical Nature, and Other Essays' is a collection of essays including Wallace's observations on equatorial vegetation, animal life, and sexual. Alfred Russel Wallace was born on 8th January 1823 in the village of Llanbadoc, in Monmouthshire, Wales. Wallace was inspired by the travelling naturalists of the day and decided to begin his exploration career collecting specimens in the Amazon rainforest. He explored the Rio Negra for four years, making notes on the peoples and languages he encountered as well as the geography, flora, and fauna. While travelling, Wallace refined his thoughts about evolution and in 1858 he outlined his theory of natural selection in an article he sent to Charles Darwin. Wallace made a huge contribution to the natural sciences and he will continue to be remembered as one of the key figures in the development of evolutionary theory. |
From inside the book
Page
... feet, and with us it is probably fifty or sixty feet, and the temperature found there is nearly forty degrees lower than at the equator. This great body of cool earth absorbs a large portion of the surface heat during the summer, and ...
... feet, and with us it is probably fifty or sixty feet, and the temperature found there is nearly forty degrees lower than at the equator. This great body of cool earth absorbs a large portion of the surface heat during the summer, and ...
Page
... feet, as in some of the volcanic mountains of Java and on portions of the Eastern Andes. Beyond the forests both to the north and south, we meet first with woody and then open country, soon changing into arid plains or even deserts ...
... feet, as in some of the volcanic mountains of Java and on portions of the Eastern Andes. Beyond the forests both to the north and south, we meet first with woody and then open country, soon changing into arid plains or even deserts ...
Page
... feet, is an almost unbroken canopy of foliage formed by the meeting together of these great trees and their interlacing branches; and this canopy is usually so dense that but an indistinct glimmer of the sky is to be seen, and even the ...
... feet, is an almost unbroken canopy of foliage formed by the meeting together of these great trees and their interlacing branches; and this canopy is usually so dense that but an indistinct glimmer of the sky is to be seen, and even the ...
Page
... feet; they often divide as they approach the ground, and sometimes twist and curve along the surface for a considerable distance, forming elevated and greatly compressed roots. These buttresses are sometimes so large that the spaces ...
... feet; they often divide as they approach the ground, and sometimes twist and curve along the surface for a considerable distance, forming elevated and greatly compressed roots. These buttresses are sometimes so large that the spaces ...
Page
... feet from the ground. 2. 3. Sections much higher up. foresttree, more than 200 feet high, but rather slender in proportion, and it was by no means an extreme example of its class. This peculiar form is probably produced by the downward ...
... feet from the ground. 2. 3. Sections much higher up. foresttree, more than 200 feet high, but rather slender in proportion, and it was by no means an extreme example of its class. This peculiar form is probably produced by the downward ...
Contents
ANIMAL LIFE IN THE TROPICAL FORESTS | |
THE COLOURS OF ANIMALS AND SEXUAL SELECTION | |
THE COLOURS OF PLANTS AND THE ORIGIN OF | |
THE DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS AS INDICATING | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
abundant adapted Africa allied Amazon animals ants Asia attract bamboo Batavia beautiful become birds blue brilliant butterflies carnivora causes changes characteristic climate colour Colours of Animals comparatively conspicuous continent curious Danaidæ Darwin distinct distribution earth Eocene equator equatorial zone existence extensive fact families fauna favourable feet female ferns fertilization flowers foliage foresttrees fruits genera genus greater green groups habits heat hummingbirds hyænas immense inhabit insects islands Juan Fernandez land larger larvæ leaves lemurs less light Madagascar Malay Malay Archipelago male mammalia marsupials Miocene monkeys natural selection North northern observed occur oceanic ornaments Palæarctic parrots peculiar perhaps phenomena plants Pliocene plumage probably produced proportion protection rays region remarkable resemble sexual selection showy sometimes South America species spots structure sunbirds surface tail temperate zones temperature theory tints trees tropical trunks Ungulata variation varied variety vegetation whole wings yellow