them to that
extent that I cannot bear to kill and skeletonise them.")

P.S.--I do not know whether you will think this worth reading over. I
have worked it out since writing my letter, and tabulate the whole.

21 orders with 1 genus, having 7.95 species (or 4.6?).

29 orders with 2 genera, having 15.05 species on an average.

23 orders each with 3 genera, and these genera include on an average 8.2
species.

20 orders each with 4 genera, and these genera include on an average
12.2 species.

27 orders each with above 50 genera (altogether 4716 genera), and these
genera on an average have 9.97 species.

From this I conclude, whether there be many or few genera in an order,
the number of species in a genus is not much affected; but perhaps when
[there is] only one genus in an order it will be affected, and this will
depend whether the [genus] Erythroxylon be made a family of.

LETTER 44. TO J.D. HOOKER. Down, April 8th [1856].

I have been particularly glad to get your splendid eloge of Lindley. His
name had been lately passing through my head, and I had hoped that Miers
would have proposed him for the Royal medal. I most entirely agree that
the Copley (44/1. The late Professor Lindley never attained the honour
of the Copley medal. The Royal medal was awarded to him in 1857.) is
more appropriate, and I daresay he would not have valued the Royal. From
skimming through many botanical books, and from often consulting the
"Vegetable Kingdom," I had (ignorant as I am) formed the highest opinion
of his claims as a botanist. If Sharpey will stick up strong for him,
we should have some chance; but the natural sciences are but feebly
represented in the Council. Sir P. Egerton, I daresay, would be strong
for him. You know Bell is out. Now, my only doubt is, and I hope that
you will consider this, that the natural sciences being weak on the
Council, and (I fancy) the most powerful man in the Council, Col.
S[abine], being strong against Lindley, whether we should have any
chance of succeeding. It would be so easy to name some eminent man whose
name would be well-known to all the physicists. Would Lindley hear of
and dislike being proposed for the Copley and not succeeding? Would it
not be better on this view to propose him for the Royal? Do think of
this. Moreover, if Lindley is not proposed for the Royal, I fear both
Royal medals would go [to] physicists; for I, for one, should not like
to propose another zoologist, thoug