Dear Sir—

Your book on animals & plants² is my favourite resource when idle. I believe firmly in the Origin of Species by natural selection and go with Spencer³ I think to the full length of all his conclusions   allow me as a sympathiser & especially as an admirer of any one who is good eno’ to give time & trouble to collecting and recording scientific facts impartially & accurately observed to send you the following case.

There is in this Station a dun pegue pony with black prints the property of Cap^t. Hole⁴ Sup^t. of Police in this district   It has 17 black stripes some very distinct others faint but all clearly perceptible to any observer from the shoulder to the flank on one side the other I have not observed. Also a deep black spinal stripe. And 9 cross stripes distinct & black on the foreleg above the knee.⁵

I am going to try breeding the fowls native here and shall be happy to give you any infⁿ. you may wish for about them   I have not yet had the opportunity of examining the ordinary jungle cock, here common all over India closely nor the G. Sonneratii but my impression is that the common country fowl of these parts resembles the latter bird, I send you a few feathers both from cock & hen—⁶ If the G.S. is the wild bird of these parts I dont see anything very improbable either in his having been domesticated, or in his having frequently crossed with the original fowl w^t.ever that may have been. I think the human race has shown a strong inclination to domesticate & to cultivate any & every wild animal and wild plant that promised to be either useful or ornamental, and therefore it seems to me most-probable that all the different wild species of fowls would probably be domesticated in the neighbourhoods where they are abundant in the wild state. No doubt these again are from one parent if one goes back far enough. But since they branched off from him I dont see why they s^d. not all have been domesticated and I think it most probable that the jungle fowl of w^t.ever species & wherever found would naturally be domesticated by whatever people inhabited the country where he abounded. I think the same argument applies to other domestic animals of w^h. there exist or have existed several species. What made man domesticate one species that desire w^h. we see some of in the love of children for stealing & rearing young birds in our hedgerows w^d. it seems to me most probably lead other branches of the human race to domesticate other species in the attempt to domesticate every wild animal within their reach.

Believe me | Dear Sir | yours truly | A. J. Stuart. | Madras Civil Service