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Darwin Correspondence Project

To J. V. Carus   8 October [1867]1

Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.

Oct 8.

My dear Sir

The game cock is the same as what you call the fighting cock. The “duck-wing” is a sub-breed of the game with wings marked as you suppose. “Piles” is another sub-breed of the game with much white about it, & which I do not think worth describing to you. I would suggest in these cases to use within inverted commas the English names.2 “Pencilled” fowls have feathers marked with narrow transverse, dark lines: “Spangled” fowls have feathers tipped with a spot of dark colour; these feathers are said to be “laced” when the dark colour runs some way up both margins.3

I do not know any proper term for “hackles”; you will see nearly the same elongated feathers on the neck & loins of the cock; those on the loins are often called by Breeders “saddle-feathers”.4 There are two breeds of fowls with black bones; I know of no European name for the breed in which the hens alone are thus characterized.5 You will I hope have received by this time some additional clean sheets.6

Pray keep Newmeister as long as you like.7

I beg you always to ask me any questions you like & believe me my dear Sir | yours very faithfully | Ch. Darwin

Footnotes

The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from J. V. Carus, 5 October 1867.
Carus reported receiving additional proof-sheets of Variation in his letter to CD of 7 October 1867.
CD refers to Gottlob Neumeister’s book on pigeon breeding, which he had sent to Carus (Neumeister 1837; see letter from J. V. Carus, 5 October 1867 and n. 7).

Bibliography

Neumeister, Gottlob. 1837. Das Ganze der Taubenzucht. Weimar: B. F. Voigt.

Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.

Summary

CD provides explanations and advice on translating names and descriptions of breeds of fowls.

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 5644,” accessed on 5 June 2025, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-5644.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 15

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