From Richard Harte 30 August 1872
To Charles Darwin Esqre | F.R.S. &c—
Sir,
Crossing a few days ago from Cork to Bristol I noticed a cat on board with enormous paws, and I found that it had six well formed claws on each of the hind feet and five on each of the fore feet on enquiry the steward informed me that the mother of this cat had an abnormal number of claws (he could not exactly say how many) and that most of her kittens had extra claws, one of them as many as seven on each hind paw. he further told me that he had at home a sister of the cat I saw on board which had six claws on both fore and hind feet and that this cat had some young ones with extra claws one of which I could have.1
one of these kittens I have brought with me to London a tom cat with six claws on the front paws and five on the hind, and as I find I shall have to leave London for some time it struck me that the case was a sufficiently interesting one, as illustrating the persistance of a variation, to warrant me in writing to offer you my pussy if you will be pleased to accept it.
I should mention that the fore paws of this kitten are a singular travestie of a hand being in this form
If you will kindly let me know whether you care for the kitten, I shall, in case you do, send or leave it at any address you mention
yours obediently | Richard Harte
P.S The stewards name is Curran2 (of the ship P. Adler.) | Cork and Bristol | S.S. Company.
30/8/72 | 2 Devonshire Terrace | W. Nottinghill Gate
CD annotations
Footnotes
Bibliography
Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.
Summary
Report about six-toed cats; trait persistent for three generations.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-8496
- From
- Richard Harte
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- London, Devonshire Terrace, 2
- Source of text
- DAR 166: 110
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp †
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 8496,” accessed on 29 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-8496.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 20