From Alfred Christy to W. B. Tegetmeier1 11 February 1857
Surrey Square2
11 Feby 1857
My dear Sir,
I have to apologize for not answering your note before but I have been down to Stockport. I was in hopes I could have found some letters I had in reply to mine respecting the pigeons I had to let fly for a Society at Brussells but I cannot find them so I must have lent them to someone to read and they have never returned them
I let fly 64 Pigeons in London and the first bird returned to Brussells in 7 hours and several in a few minutes after
I have had a pigeon come from Stockport to Surrey Square in 7 hours 180 miles and have had many come from Goodward3 in 1 hour and 8 and 10 minutes that is about 68 to 70 miles. a good pigeon flys about 1 mile a minute, my Pigeons come from Aperfield to Surrey Square in about 17 to 18 minutes and from Dovor in about 1 hour and 20 to 30 minutes, it depends very much on the weather and a fine clear day and if a pigeon is in good practice from a place and the wind in the right direction it should blow very little, and the same way the pigeon travels, if it does blow at all but the stiller the day the better and not too hot the heat affects them much
I trust this will be a little information for your friend
I am | Yours very truly | Alfred Christy
CD annotations
Footnotes
Bibliography
Post Office London directory: Post-Office annual directory. … A list of the principal merchants, traders of eminence, &c. in the cities of London and Westminster, the borough of Southwark, and parts adjacent … general and special information relating to the Post Office. Post Office London directory. London: His Majesty’s Postmaster-General [and others]. 1802–1967.
Summary
Sends information on the speed at which his pigeons fly various distances.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-2052
- From
- Alfred Christy
- To
- William Bernhard Tegetmeier
- Sent from
- London, Surrey Square
- Source of text
- DAR 205.2: 219
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp †, 3 CD notes
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2052,” accessed on 23 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2052.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 6