To Gardeners’ Chronicle 17 November 1868
Down, Bromley, Kent
Nov. 17, 1868
I should be greatly obliged to anyone who keeps Merino sheep, or any other breed in which the ewes are hornless, or to any one who has the power of inquiring about such breeds, if he would take the trouble to inform me at what age the horns first appear in the young rams, or acquire a certain specified length, in comparison with other breeds of sheep in which both sexes possess horns. Or, to put the case more generally, is there any difference in the period of development of the horns in the breeds in which they are common to both sexes, & in those in which they are confined to the males? I am anxious for information on this head, as I believe such facts have an important bearing on an obscure point in inheritance.1
Footnotes
Bibliography
Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.
Summary
Is interested to know whether there are differences in the period of development of horns in sheep in those breeds in which horns are common to both sexes, and in those in which horns are confined to males.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-6464A
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Gardeners’ Chronicle
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Hudson Rogue (dealers) (Catalogue 9); Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, 21 November 1868, p. 1218
- Physical description
- LS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 6464A,” accessed on
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 16
