Monsieur,

Je viens de recevoir de mon correspondant, de Rio de Janeiro, une réponse à la question que je lui fis, au mois de Décembre de l’année dernière, au sujet de la mortalité des singes atteints de la fièvre jaune— Voici cette réponse qui, cela va sans dire, ne tranche nullement la question—at issue—qui, probablement, ne saurait être résolue que par l’expérimentation directe sur les intéressans bipèdes—

Anglo-Brazilian Times, Rio de Janeiro, Nov. 22–1872.

“Monkeys and Yellow fever”.

“A statement has appeared in some Engl. scientific periodicals, to the effect that the monkeys of Brazil have been dying of yellow fever. We have made inquiries from a number of the most eminent scientific gentlemen of Rio who should be most likely informed in such a matter, and they all agree that they are not aware of any grounds existing for such an assertion, and that, although deaths from consumption (sic) are not unfrequent among the monkeys of Brazil, no case of death from yellow fever has ever come to their knowledge—”

“Moreover, a little consideration would show that, as yellow fever is a disease whose local is a few populated seasides, and its attacks are nearly confined to unacclimated foreigners, the probabilities of a yellow fever epidemic breaking out amongst the monkeys of Brazil are extremely small”—²

Mon correspondant, vous le voyez, Monsieur, n’est point un savant.³ C’est un journaliste et la réponse à ma question, il me l’a donnée dans son journal que je m’empresserai de vous envoyer sous peu.—

Agréez, Monsieur, l’expression de mes sentimens les plus distingués. D^r. J. Herschel