of fossil elephant from America, to which he gave
the name Elephas Columbi, a designation which was recognised and adopted
by Continental writers. In 1858 (Brit. Assoc. Leeds) Owen made use of
the name "Elephas texianus," Blake" for the species which Falconer
had previously named E. Columbi, but without referring to Falconer's
determination; he gave no authority, "thus by the established usage in
zoology producing it as his own." In 1861 Owen in his Palaeontology,
2nd edition, 1861, describes the elephant as E. texianus, Blake. To
Mr. Blake's name is appended an asterisk which refers to a footnote
to Bollaert's "Antiquities of S. America," 2nd edition. According to
Falconer (page 46) no second edition of Bollaert had appeared at the
time of writing (August, 1862), and in the first edition (1860) he
was "unable to detect the occurrence of the name even, of E. texianus,
anywhere throughout the volume"; though Bollaert mentions the fact that
he had deposited, in the British Museum, the tooth of a fossil elephant
from Texas.

In November, 1861, Blake wrote a paper in the "Geologist" in which the
new elephant no longer bears his own name as authority, but is described
as "Elephas texianus, Owen, E. Columbi, Falconer." Finally, in another
paper the name of Owen is dropped and the elephant is once more his own.
As Falconer remarks, "the usage of science does not countenance such
accommodating arrangements, when the result is to prejudice a prior
right."

It may be said, no doubt, that the question who first described a given
species is a petty one; but this view has a double edge, and
applies most strongly to those who neglect the just claims of their
predecessors.

Down, January 5th [1863].

I finished your Elephant paper last night, and you must let me express
my admiration at it. (155/2. "On the American Fossil Elephant of the
Regions bordering the Gulf of Mexico (E. Columbi, Falc.), etc." "Nat.
Hist. Rev." 1863, page 81. (Cf. Letter to Lyell. "Life and Letters,"
II., page 389; also "Origin," Edition VI., page 306.) See Letter 143.)
All the points strike me as admirably worked out, and very many
most interesting. I was particularly struck with your remarks on the
character of the ancient Mammalian Fauna of N. America (155/3. Falconer,
page 62. This passage is marked in Darwin's copy.); it agrees with all I
fancied was the case, namely a temporary irruption of S. American forms
into N. America, and conversely, I chuckl