Ɛpsilon

From Lawson Tait   26 March [1876]1

7, Great Charles St. | Birmingham.

Mar 26

My Dear Sir,

I have just made an observation which may interest you on a kitten of known parentage, both tailed cats, yet born with a characteristic Manx tail. The reason is that it has a small spina bifida, a deformity common in the human species & by no means incompatible with adult life.2

I shall work this out carefully, for we might here not only have an explanation of Manx tails but loss of tails elsewhere.

When my observation is complete I shall be glad to send you the specimen, which I intend to place in the Hunterian Museum.3

I have found a case of double thumb amputated and regrown. I shall send you the authenticated facts as soon as I have these complete.4

Yours truly | Lawson Tait

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from Lawson Tait, 1 March 1876.
2
CD discussed the crossing of tailless Manx cats with ordinary cats in Variation 2: 66. Spina bifida is a condition in which the vertebrae of the spine fail to unite perfectly at the embryo stage (Chambers).
3
The Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in London.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10429,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10429