Dear Sir

You have misunderstood my meaning but the mistake was a very natural one & your criticism good.—¹ I ought not to have interpolated the sentence about the burying of food; & if inserted at all, it ought to have been at end of paragraph, or in a separate one.— The case was mentioned solely to illustrate a long-continued habit, for as far as I have seen well-fed domestic dogs do not revisit their buried treasures. A dog when burying food makes a hole (as far as I have seen) with his front legs alone, & shovels in the earth with his nose; so that there is no resemblance to the supposed excrement-covering movements.—²

Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin

I see that I have omitted to thank you for your very courteous expressions towards me.—