From A. F. Baillie 3 March 1871
Palace Gardens Terr⟨a⟩ce | Kensington W.
March 3/71.
Charles Darwin Esq.
Sir:
I have lately been re-reading the “voyage of the Beagle” and have naturally been much interested in your account of the Province of Buenos Ayres, in which I have resided for many years.1 certain paragraphs of the book I mention have, however, especially attracted my attention namely those referring to the different breeds of cattle, and particularly that which is designated ñata, or snub-nosed.2
You will perhaps have also noticed during your journey, two other breeds, namely the petiza, or small, and the mocha, or hornless breed.3
I was requested by a friend in ⟨Bu⟩enos Ayres, in the y⟨ea⟩r ’68, to obtain for him if possible a wild ⟨ ⟩ with the three distinctions, petiza⟨, mocha⟩ and ñata⟨,⟩ small, hornless ⟨and snubn⟩osed and after considerable diffi⟨culties f⟩ound an animal with all the requirements, in a rodeo, in the neighbourhood of Fandil, or Fuerte Independencia,4 to the far south of the Province.
This animal in March 1870, w⟨as⟩ still in the possession of D. Julio Jardel5 in the “Quinta de los Amigos”, Buenos Ayres.
The reunion of the three qualities has struck me as being interesting and I trust that you will pardon my calling your attention to it.
I have the honor to be | Sir | Yours obediently. | Alexander F. Baillie
Footnotes
Bibliography
Journal of researches 2d ed.: Journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage of HMS Beagle round the world, under the command of Capt. FitzRoy RN. 2d edition, corrected, with additions. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1845.
NDA: Nuevo diccionario de americanismos. Directed by Günther Haensch and Reinhold Werner. 3 vols. Coordinated by Claudio Chuchuy and Laura Hlavacka de Bouzo. Santafé de Bogotá: Instituto Caro y Cuervo. 1993.
Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.
Summary
Rereading Journal of researches, particularly on Buenos Aires and varieties of cattle observed there [pp. 145–6]. Reports a case of a cow in which the characters of the niata and two other breeds were combined.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-7536
- From
- Alexander Francis Baillie
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- unstated
- Source of text
- DAR 160: 18
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp damaged
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 7536,” accessed on 25 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-7536.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 19