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Darwin Correspondence Project

To George Maw   8 November 1880

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | (Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.)

Nov. 8th 1880

My dear Sir

Your case is curious & altogether new to me.1 You will remember Linnæus’ specific character of Canis familiaris “Cauda (sinistrorsum recurrata”.2 The flexure in your dead animals must, I suppose, depend on the greater strength of the muscles on the left side, & this seems very odd. My son, George of Trin: Coll: Cambridge many years ago tested a lot of boys blindfolded to see which way they would turn; he, also, if I can trust my memory, tested the strength of their two legs by making them hop.—3 If you are really interested in the result, I would write to him to learn whether he wd. find his notes.

I am very much obliged for the present of a specimen of your monograph on Crocus, which will probably arrive tomorrow.4

Pray believe me | My dear Sir | Yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin

Footnotes

The description of Canis familiaris appears in Systema naturæ by Carolus Linnaeus: ‘cauda (sinistrorsum) recurvata’ (‘recurved tail turned towards the left’; Linnaeus 1758–9, 1: 38). Canis familiaris is a synonym of Canis lupus familiaris, the domestic dog.
George Howard Darwin’s experiments were designed to study directional instinct; his notes have not been found (see Correspondence vol. 22, letter to G. H. Darwin, 27 May [1874]).
The specimen of Maw’s Monograph of the genus Crocus (Maw 1886) has not been found.

Bibliography

Linnaeus, Carolus (Carl von Linné). 1758–9. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. 10th edition. 2 vols. Stockholm: Laurentius Salvius.

Maw, George. 1886. Monograph of the genus Crocus. London: Dulau and Co.

Summary

Believes the flexure in GM’s dead animals must result from the greater strength of the muscles on the left side. Thinks his son George once tested the strength of each leg of a group of boys, and CD could get his notes if wanted.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-12805
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
George Maw
Sent from
Down
Source of text
Royal Horticultural Society, Lindley Library (MAW/1/18)
Physical description
ALS 3pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12805,” accessed on 19 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12805.xml

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