To Robert Patterson 10 March [1857]1
DOWN, BROMLEY, KENT
March 10th. [1857]
MY DEAR SIR
I am going to beg a great and troublesome favor of you,—I have been collecting skeletons of all varieties of Rabbits, & I want very much a real Irish Rabbit,2 the L. veomicule of our poor friend Thompson—3 Would you have the great kindness to take the trouble to procure me one. The only care requisite to be to get one not very severely shot, but especially not struck on the back of the head to kill it, as that part is easily injured & is very characteristic.
I enclose an address; and you will know whether to steamer to Liverpool & then per Railway, will be the cheapest and quickest route— I am fearful you will think me rather unreasonable in begging this favor.
Truly believe me | My dear Sir | Yours sincerely | CH. DARWIN
Footnotes
Bibliography
Praeger, William E. 1935. Six unpublished letters of Charles Darwin. Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters 20: 711–5. [Vols. 4,5,8]
Thompson, William. 1849–56. The natural history of Ireland. 4 vols. (Vol. 4 edited by Robert Patterson.) London.
Summary
Asks RP’s help in procuring a specimen of a real Irish rabbit, L. veomicule [Lepus vermicula]?.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-2062
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Robert Patterson
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- W. E. Praeger 1935, p. 714
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2062,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2062.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 6