To George Cupples [6–9? January 1869]1
For example, and before I in the least knew what the result would be, I fixed on this as a crucial instance,—the reindeer alone (of cervidæ) has horns in both sexes, therefore, according to my rule, their horns should be developed very early in life;2 and I now hear from Sweden that these appear within two or three weeks after birth:3 whilst with all other deer, in which the horns are confined to the male, these do not, as far I have hitherto ascertained, appear till nearly a year after birth. So it is with the horns of antelopes. Now you will see that if a large part of the variation in stature occurs late in life among male deer-hounds, this variation will (on such a principle) tend to be transmitted to the males alone, and will not affect the females as any other ordinary variation would do.4
Footnotes
Bibliography
Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.
Summary
Discusses the development of horns in reindeer and other deer.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-6546F
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- George Cupples
- Source of text
- Cupples 1894, p. 165
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 6546F,” accessed on 26 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-6546F.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 17