To P. L. Sclater 14 May [1862]
Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.
May 14th
Dear Sclater
Very sincere thanks for your two notes.1 It will not be fair to plague you or Mr Gurney with another note, but when you see him, will you ask him whether he can remember at the time when the P. nigripennis appeared he had any white or pied Birds.2 In two of the three cases mentioned by Sir R. Heron there were white & pied birds in the lot.—3 With four cases now recorded I would wager the P. nigripennis will prove a variety,—4hardly more surprising in its origin, than the so-called Himalayan rabbit.5 It is a very curious case. Have you a white Peacock in the Gardens; if so do match a white & common for the chance of P. nigripennis appearing.— The effects of crossing are sometimes marvellous in bringing out old & lost characters or in producing new characters—
Yours very sincerely | C. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Heron, Robert. 1835. Notes on the habits of the pea-fowl. [Read 14 April 1835.] Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (1833–5) pt 3: 54.
Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.
Summary
Asks for information about peacocks, especially Pavo nigripennis. Suggests a crossing experiment.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-3545
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Philip Lutley Sclater
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.277)
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 3545,” accessed on 29 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-3545.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 10