To Lawrence Ruck 10 January 1881
Down, | Beckenham. | Kent.
Jan 10th 1881.
My dear Mr. Ruck
I should be very much obliged if you could obtain for me from shepherds or from your own observation a little information which will appear to you a ridiculously small point but which interests me in relation to little ledges on mountain-sides which have been observed in many parts of the world. My question is whether sheep or mountain cattle whilst grazing on a very steep slope of turf usually travel across the slope horizontally or slowly ascend it.1 If a flock of sheep were grazing on a steep slope it would be easy to observe whether they moved up parallel to the bed of the valley, and this I wish to know. If you trust the shepherds, it would I think be advisable to ask two of them as a check, one on the other. I hope that you will forgive me for troubling you on points apparently so trivial, and I remain, my dear Mr. Ruck | Yours sincerely Charles Darwin.
Footnotes
Bibliography
Earthworms: The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms: with observations on their habits. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1881.
Summary
Asks whether sheep and cattle grazing on a steep slope move across the slope horizontally or ascend it.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-13002
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Lawrence Ruck
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- M. G. Hamer (private collection)
- Physical description
- LS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13002,” accessed on