To George Maw 8 November 1880
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | (Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.)
Nov. 8th 1880
My dear Sir
Your case is curious & altogether new to me.1 You will remember Linnæus’ specific character of Canis familiaris “Cauda (sinistrorsum recurrata”.2 The flexure in your dead animals must, I suppose, depend on the greater strength of the muscles on the left side, & this seems very odd. My son, George of Trin: Coll: Cambridge many years ago tested a lot of boys blindfolded to see which way they would turn; he, also, if I can trust my memory, tested the strength of their two legs by making them hop.—3 If you are really interested in the result, I would write to him to learn whether he wd. find his notes.
I am very much obliged for the present of a specimen of your monograph on Crocus, which will probably arrive tomorrow.4
Pray believe me | My dear Sir | Yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Linnaeus, Carolus (Carl von Linné). 1758–9. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. 10th edition. 2 vols. Stockholm: Laurentius Salvius.
Maw, George. 1886. Monograph of the genus Crocus. London: Dulau and Co.
Summary
Believes the flexure in GM’s dead animals must result from the greater strength of the muscles on the left side. Thinks his son George once tested the strength of each leg of a group of boys, and CD could get his notes if wanted.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-12805
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- George Maw
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Royal Horticultural Society, Lindley Library (MAW/1/18)
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12805,” accessed on 19 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12805.xml