From Arthur Russell 19 May 1873
Athenæum Club | Pall Mall
19 May | 1873
Dear Mr. Darwin,
I venture to send you the following note for a future edition of your “animals under domestication” Vol. II p. 236 you say that “distinct races of carp have not been formed &c”1
In Germany where carp ponds exist on most large estates & many books have been written on the management of fish ponds, they cultivate a very distinct & constant variety of carp which has been made into a species (Cyprinus Rex cyprinorum C. macrolepidotus &c) & which fetches a higher price in the market & is more valued for the table than the Common carp— the Germans call it Spiegelkarpfe You may see a figure of it in Bloch.2 In this variety the scales have nearly disappeared, the fish is covered with a leathery skin & the few scales that persist along the dorsal line and on the sides of the fish attain a large development like half crown pieces. Occasionally the scales are wanting entirely & then the fish is called: leather-carp (C. nudus, C. coriaceus) Cyprinus Alepidotus) Lederkarpfen in German.3 Great care is taken to prevent them mixing with the common scaly carp. I brought 32 small Spiegelcarp living from Berlin— they are now in a pond by themselves at Woburn Abbey, Beds4
believe me truly yours | Arthur Russell.
CD annotations
Footnotes
Bibliography
Variation 2d ed.: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2d edition. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1875.
Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.
Summary
In Variation CD claims there are no distinct races of carp, but AR says that in Germany a peculiar and constant variety of carp has been bred.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-8915
- From
- Arthur John Edward (Arthur) Russell, Lord Arthur Russell
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Athenaeum Club
- Source of text
- DAR 176: 226
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp †
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 8915,” accessed on 24 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-8915.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 21