Erasmus Darwin quote

[arcticpenguin]

Excellent quote. I didn't get the bit about metallic tractors, must be an outdated reference. That's a minor detail though.

[Astroglide]

There's a decent book, The Amazing Dr. Darwin : The Adventures of Charles Darwin's Grandfather by Charles Sheffield that has Erasmus Darwin as a sort of Sherlock Holmes-ish character involved in a few short mysteries.

How much of it is based on the actual man, I couldn't say, but it's a decent read.