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Darwin Correspondence Project

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

CD was trying to determine whether worms had played a role in the formation of horizontal ledges on steep grassy slopes; a common explanation for these ledges was grazing animals (see Earthworms, pp. 278–83).

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 5 June 2025, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13002.xml

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