To E. B. Tylor 19 June [1880]
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | (Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.)
June 19th.
My dear Sir
I have come across more than one statement that animals learn to know poisonous herbs, & one case referred to Australia. I fancy that another was by Linnæus.1 I have no doubt that I have references, but it would take me a week of labour to find them. I believed in them because there seems to be good evidence that animals learn by seeing their comrades suffer. It is notorious that you cannot long continue poisoning rats with the same kind of poison. I have received 2 or 3 accounts from trustworthy persons (besides some published notices) that when telegraph wires are first set up in any district, many birds, especially partridges, are killed by flying against them; but that after 2 or 3 years such deaths cease. On the other hand when no harm follows animals get accustomed to what is terrific: the late W. Thompson of Belfast (an excellent observer) told me that when a Ry was first made there, which passed through some swamps, the wild birds were terrified at the trains, but that after a few months even herons remained stationary close to the train.—2
I wish that I could have aided you better & remain | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin.
P.S. I have just thought of a place to look for references on cattle or sheep learning to avoid poisonous herbs
(1) Annals & Mag. of Nat. Hist 2d series, Vol. 2. p. 364.
(2) Amœnitates Academicæ Vol. 7 p. 409. (I suppose Linnæus)
(3) Stillingfleet Tracts p. 350
(4) Youatt on Sheep p. 404.3
I do not now knows details, but these works were consulted by me,
Footnotes
Bibliography
Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.
Linnaeus, Carolus (Carl von Linné). 1749–90. Amoenitates academicae: seu dissertationes variæ physicæ, medicæ, botanicæ antehac seorsim editæ nunc collectæ et auctæ cum tabulis aeneis. 10 vols. Stockholm: Laurentius Salvius.
Stillingfleet, Benjamin, et al. 1762. Miscellaneous tracts relating to natural history, husbandry, and physick. To which is added the calendar of flora. 2d edition corrected and augmented. London: R. and J. Dodsley; S. Baker; and T. Payne.
Youatt, William. 1837. Sheep: their breeds, management, and diseases. To which is added the mountain shepherd’s manual. London: Baldwin and Cradock.
Summary
Discusses animals’ ability to learn to recognise danger, especially poisonous herbs.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-12641
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Edward Burnett Tylor
- Sent from
- Down
- Postmark
- JU 20 | 80
- Source of text
- The British Library (Add MS 50254: 96–8)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12641,” accessed on 18 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12641.xml