From Archibald McNeill 20 February 1869
Summary
Answers CD’s letter of 15 Feb about voice of female and odour of stag red deer.
| Author: | Archibald McNeill |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 20 Feb 1869 |
| Classmark: | DAR 83: 177–8 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6624 |
Matches: 10 hits
- … Answers CD’s letter of 15 Feb about voice of female and odour of stag red deer. …
- … a small herd of females has generally one large or master Stag with them who is constantly …
- … bellowing & chasing off the younger Stags from the …
- … be in such a state of irritation that the Stags are constantly passing urine— Believe me …
- … herd This Stag occasionally leaves the females & goes to one of the holes he has made on …
- … himself in the water of any stream or loch— Stags usually (in a wild state) feed during …
- … most & loudest during the night— I have never heard a young stag under 3 years old roar, …
- … nor am I aware that Stags roar when fighting tho’ their fights almost …
- … take place during the rutting season— The Stags emit no strong odour during the rutting …
- … mention that during the rutting season the stags eat little & are so much reduced during …
From David Wedderburn 6 April 1871
Summary
Sexual selection in deer.
Assemblies of black cocks.
Nests of spotted flycatcher.
| Author: | David Wedderburn |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 6 Apr 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 88: 163, 167–9 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7660 |
Matches: 6 hits
- … Wedderburn 1884 , p. 128). CD discussed stags’ fighting in Descent 2: 240. Descent 2: …
- … about twenty hinds and calves, one large stag, and two small ones, who were “kept out”, ( …
- … with the telescope we observed another stag, nearly as large as the first, accompanied by …
- … On envelope : ‘Good case of courtship of Stags [‘s’ blue crayon over ink ]’ ink, del …
- … challenged successively by the two young stags, neither venturing to cross horns with him, …
- … retreated in company with the two young stags. The old fellow at once galloped up to the …
From Archibald McNeill 24 January 1869
Summary
Answer to CD’s query as to whether horns on deer are for use or ornament. [See Descent 2: 252–3.]
| Author: | Archibald McNeill |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 24 Jan 1869 |
| Classmark: | DAR 83: 175–6 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6574 |
Matches: 6 hits
- … in combat than three points and in fact stags frequently have only one point—but the brow …
- … Gen y . known that I have frequently seen Stags in a half tame serve Cows, but of course …
- … there was no proginy— The long hair on the Stags neck may be intended for ornamint but it …
- … a dog killed by a deer for my dogs were deer hounds & not Stag hounds and were used only …
- … for coursing, and as a Stag will not turn to bay till he is exhausted a good deer hound …
- … fights with each other but I have seen stags in a half tame state use them when fighting …
From J. V. Carus 28 May 1871
Summary
Sends corrections for Descent.
| Author: | Julius Victor Carus |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 28 May 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 88: 106–7 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7774 |
Matches: 5 hits
- … blue crayon Top of letter : ‘& Horn of stags’ pencil End of letter : ‘ [ Index prepared …
- … 33, the right one bears only 27 branches. But it is the custom of the stag- hunters in …
- … naming the stags to call them by a number which is the double of the higher number of …
- … this is not equal in both antlers. So this stag would be called a 66-branched (66-ender in …
- … although he had only 60 branches. A stag with 12 branches to the right, 10 branches to …
From Philip de Malpas Grey-Egerton 18 February 1869
Summary
Habits of the fallow deer during the breeding season. [See Descent, 2d ed., p. 803.]
| Author: | Philip de Malpas Grey- Egerton, 10th baronet Egerton |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 18 Feb 1869 |
| Classmark: | DAR 83: 179–81 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6620 |
Matches: 5 hits
- … and breaking the femur. The roar of the Stag is very like that of a bull. The volume of …
- … to have no predilections. It generally happens that while two large Stags are fighting for …
- … the mastery, the smaller Stags, which always hover around the herd at a respectfull …
- … up themselves into smaller herds. The large Stags have generally one or two sentinels with …
- … prefaced by roaring loud and long, the Stags walking round and round each other Suddenly …
From Edward Blyth 24 August 1868
Summary
Discusses the development of horns in antelopes. Remarks on the variation within and between the species of Cervus and on their relationship to each other.
| Author: | Edward Blyth |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 24 Aug 1868 |
| Classmark: | DAR 86: A34–5, DAR 160: 220 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6329 |
Matches: 5 hits
- … is now C. elephas barbarus , the Barbary stag ( Whitehead 1993 , p. 473). Cervus elaphus …
- … the Corsican (if not also the Sardinian) stag is either the same or comes very near it. I …
- … into that of C. dama . Now about other true stags, of the elaphine type. The most distinct …
- … other. And it is probable that a large stag in the north of Japan that has been referred …
- … from it as are the Kashmirian and Persian stags— There is now a true wild Greek example of …
From George Cupples 21 January 1869
Summary
Forwards reply from [Peter Robertson] head forester for Marquis of Breadalbane on development of horns in Scottish deer.
| Author: | George Cupples |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 21 Jan 1869 |
| Classmark: | DAR 161: 290; DAR 86: A81–2 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6566 |
Matches: 4 hits
- … ground where the climate is colder, a stag born in a park where there is a rich Pasture …
- … deer on the mountains are at 6 years a stag is not at his best untill 10 years, the Hind …
- … are castrated will never have horns, or if a Stag is casterated when the horns are at full …
- … when young are in Season when the Stags are out of Season we call them Heaviers and are …
From Edward Blyth [22 October 1855]
Summary
Gives references to William Allen’s narrative of the Niger expedition [William Allen and T. R. H. Thompson , A narrative of the expedition sent by Her Majesty’s Government to the river Niger in 1841 (1848)]: common fowl returning to wildness, details of domestic sheep, ducks, and white fowl.
Range of the fallow deer; its affinity to the Barbary stag.
Natural propensity of donkeys for arid desert.
Indian donkeys often have zebra markings on the legs.
Believes the common domestic cat of India is indigenous.
Occurrence of cultivated plants from Europe in India; success of cultivation. Ancient history of cultivated plants.
[CD’s notes are an abstract of this memorandum and indicate that it was originally 20 pages long.]
| Author: | Edward Blyth |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [22 Oct 1855] |
| Classmark: | DAR 98: A93–A98 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-1811 |
Matches: 5 hits
- … the fallow deer; its affinity to the Barbary stag. Natural propensity of donkeys for arid …
- … affinity which it bears to the Barbary Stag (or Cervus barbarus , whose name by the …
- … in young animals. In three other typical stags, it seems to be constantly present,—viz. in …
- … see a good series of horns of the Barbary Stag in the Zool. Soc. museum, & probably know …
- … trifurcating. That of the great Tibetan Stag would seem to bifurcate invariably. N.B. — …
From W. D. Crotch 14 November 1873
Summary
Sends information on shedding of reindeer horns in males and females.
Lemmings.
| Author: | William Duppa Crotch |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 14 Nov 1873 |
| Classmark: | DAR 88: 127–8 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-9141 |
From Henry Reeks 25 May 1871
Summary
Comments on and corrections for chapter 13, "Mammals", of Descent.
| Author: | Henry Stephen (Henry) Reeks |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 25 May 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 88: 100–4 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7767 |
From Bartholomew James Sulivan 20 October 1838
Summary
Reports arrival at Falklands; weather conditions, and unsuccessful search he made for a geological formation CD had seen. Describes cliffs, streams, rocks, and lines of elevation; includes two drawings.
| Author: | Bartholomew James Sulivan |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 20 Oct 1838 |
| Classmark: | DAR 39: 18–19 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-429 |
To A. R. Wallace 5 September [1877]
Summary
Further discussion of evidence for sexual selection. Prefers "conscious" to "voluntary" action. Distinguishes features that serve as charms and those that serve as challenges.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Alfred Russel Wallace |
| Date: | 5 Sept [1877] |
| Classmark: | The British Library (Add MS 46434) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-11127 |
To Henry Walter Bates 11 February [1868]
Summary
Asks about proportions of male to female insects.
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Henry Walter Bates |
| Date: | 11 Feb [1868] |
| Classmark: | American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5858 |
From M. B. Bathoe 25 March [1871]
Summary
Anecdotal comments on various sections of Descent:
Red Indians erecting their ears;
reasoning in a pet antelope, stag deer, and mongoose;
use of foot as prehensile organ by carpenters in India.
| Author: | Maria Burnley Hume; Maria Burnley Gubbins; Maria Burnley Bathoe |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 25 Mar [1871] |
| Classmark: | DAR 87: 31–6 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7624 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … erecting their ears; reasoning in a pet antelope, stag deer, and mongoose; use of foot as …
From Henry Reeks 3 June 1871
Summary
Observations on habits of caribou and deer in Newfoundland.
Suggests nightingale egg coloration evolved from white to olive for protection.
| Author: | Henry Stephen (Henry) Reeks |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 3 June 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 176: 80 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7799 |
From A. G. Butler 26 May 1871
Summary
Several observations on protective coloration and sexual selection.
| Author: | Arthur Gardiner Butler |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 26 May 1871 |
| Classmark: | DAR 89: 104–7 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-7770 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … CD described the large mandibles of male stag beetles ( Lucanus cervus ) as ‘well adapted …
From George Cupples 11–13 May 1868
Summary
Answers CD’s queries on difference in size of male and female Scottish deerhounds; female preference for larger males; details about ratio of sexes born. Quotes from letter of Archibald McNeill on difference in size of male and female Scotch deerhounds.
| Author: | George Cupples |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 11–13 May 1868 |
| Classmark: | DAR 83: 119–20, DAR 83: 121–6, DAR 85: B28 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6169 |
From J. B. Innes 14 December 1868
Summary
Hopes Miss [Sarah Elizabeth] Wedgwood will sell part of her land for a parsonage at Down. Recounts his futile efforts to obtain land in the past.
Encloses news item about the supposed hybrid [of cow and deer].
| Author: | John Brodie Innes |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | 14 Dec 1868 |
| Classmark: | DAR 167: 23, 23a |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-6502 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … legs. It is about the size of a full-grown stag, resembles very much the appearance of a …
From Hermanus Hartogh Heijs van Zouteveen [before 18 January 1873]
Summary
Translation of some of his annotations in Dutch edition of Expression.
| Author: | Hermanus Hartogh Heijs van Zouteveen |
| Addressee: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Date: | [before 28 Jan 1873] |
| Classmark: | DAR 53.1: B44–9 |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-8712 |
To H. W. Bates 22 February [1868]
Summary
Thanks HWB for bringing "the question of sexes" before the Entomological Society. Feels he will come to some conclusion by comparison of numerous observations.
It appears Pangenesis "will expire unblessed and uncursed by the world".
| Author: | Charles Robert Darwin |
| Addressee: | Henry Walter Bates |
| Date: | 22 Feb [1868] |
| Classmark: | Houghton Library, Harvard University (Autograph file, D) |
| Letter no: | DCP-LETT-5914 |
Matches: 1 hit
- … In Descent 1: 347, CD noted that male stag beetles ( Lucanus ) were larger than females . …
| letter | (34) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (7) |
| Blyth, Edward | (5) |
| Cupples, George | (3) |
| McNeill, Archibald | (2) |
| Reeks, Henry | (2) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (27) |
| Bates, H. W. | (2) |
| Fox, W. D. | (1) |
| Hyatt, Alpheus | (1) |
| Lyell, Charles | (1) |
| Darwin, C. R. | (34) |
| Blyth, Edward | (5) |
| Bates, H. W. | (3) |
| Cupples, George | (3) |
| Fox, W. D. | (2) |
Sexual selection in Commentary
Darwin in letters, 1868: Studying sex
Summary
The quantity of Darwin’s correspondence increased dramatically in 1868 due largely to his ever-widening research on human evolution and sexual selection.Darwin’s theory of sexual selection as applied to human descent led him to investigate aspects of the…
Matches: 1 hits
- … plumage of some male birds and the huge mandibles of male stag beetles. Such characteristics, he …
Sexual selection
Summary
Although natural selection could explain the differences between species, Darwin realised that (other than in the reproductive organs themselves) it could not explain the often marked differences between the males and females of the same species. So what…
Matches: 1 hits
- … on overall ‘vigour’ – weapons such as the horns on a stag or the spurs on a cock. Sexual selection, …
