To Roland Trimen 12 February [1868]1
Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.
Feb 12
My dear Mr Trimen
I shall be very happy to put my name down for your brother’s book & he can hand over the enclosed paper to Hardwick—2
Since you were here I have become much interested on the relative numbers of the males & females of all animals.3 I am particularly anxious for other cases like that from Wallace which you gave me of females in excess;4 or to know that such cases are rare. If you can, I am sure you will aid me.
Do you give many instances in your book on S. African butterflies, of males in excess. I remember writing down one or 2 cases which you gave me—5
Believe me | yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Marginalia: Charles Darwin’s marginalia. Edited by Mario A. Di Gregorio with the assistance of Nicholas W. Gill. Vol. 1. New York and London: Garland Publishing. 1990.
Trimen, Roland. 1862–6. Rhopalocera Africæ Australis; a catalogue of South African butterflies, comprising descriptions of all the known species with notices of their larvæ, pupæ, localities, habits, seasons of appearance, and geographical distribution. London: Trübner. Cape Town, South Africa: W. F. Mathew.
Summary
Is interested in the relative numbers of males and females of all animals; wants any instances of males, or females, being in excess.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-5867
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Roland Trimen
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Royal Entomological Society (Trimen papers, box 21: 64)
- Physical description
- LS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 5867,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-5867.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 16
