My dear Sir

Let me thank you cordially for your really to me very valuable letter.² The kind spirit with which you have answered my not little troublesome letter has gratified me extremely.—

I admire & honour your zeal in thinking of your Madagascar expedition, & I have no doubt, if you go, you will do much for Natural History.³ It is such a good piece of fortune for me, as I could never have anticipated; for it is almost certain that there will be some odd breeds of domestic animals there.—

My chief object in writing now, besides thanking you, is to trouble you with two or three questions, if you can find leisure (for you seem indeed to be greatly overworked) to answer them.— Firstly I do hope that you will try & discover whether the hybrid Cats are fertile; I fear that this w^d. be very difficult inter se; but with either parent you cannot fail to discover.⁴ Secondly Licktenstein asserts that the natives have a breed of domestic dogs like the C. mesomelas, & I think he asserts that they sometimes get a cross with the wild species to improve the Breed;⁵ I wish you w^d. enquire in regard to this.— Thirdly I have always been curious to know, where many breeds of dogs are promiscuously crossed, whether any sort of uniformity is acquired in the mongrel race: how is this at the Cape?

Fourthly would you kindly take the trouble to ask M^r. Fry two questions;⁶ whether, if he can remember, the feral Pigeons at Ascension, had black bars on wing & white rumps, or whether they were chequered like common Dove cot.—⁷ Also did he ever see in N. Africa, a Grey-Hound, with a very short & much curled tail: such a Dog is figured on the ancient monuments, & has been said now to exist, but I cannot avoid doubting this.⁸

Lastly (& in truth I am ashamed to ask so much) I shall be most grateful for any information, from the Pigeon Fancier, mentioned to you by M^r. Fry, in regard to the Pigeons of the Cape. If any breed, it is supposed, has long been at Cape, even if very slightly different, I should wish beyond all measure for a specimen; & so with Ducks & Poultry.⁹ Country Farm Houses w^d. offer only chance.— I am much interested about Ducks, & find some great peculiarities in their skeletons.— I venture to repeat that very slight differences interest me greatly.

With respect to your question about Books by which to make out sea-fowl, I have not knowledge to answer, but I will enquire when next in London: but from similar enquiries I made formerly, I much doubt, whether anything like a general synopsis is published.

With cordial thanks for your very kind & interesting letter, pray believe me | My dear Sir | Your’s very sincerely | Charles Darwin