Ɛpsilon

To Otto Zacharias   26 April 1877

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station [6 Queen Anne Street, London.]

April 26th 77

My dear Sir

I am sorry to say that I have not osteological knowledge enough for my opinion to be of any value with respect to the anomalous foot of the pig, which you have been so good as to send me.—1 I do not know whether it has arrived at Down, for I am at present away from home; but when it arrives I will send it to Prof. Flower, at the R. Collg. of Surgeons who has made a special study of the limbs of the Ungulata & who is a most careful & admirable observer.—2

I have asked him to send me a note, if the foot presents any remarkable peculiarities, & should I receive any such note, I will forward it to you.—3

I remain | Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin

2
William Henry Flower was curator of the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England (ODNB). The former order Ungulata is now divided into the orders Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla (even and odd-toed ungulates). Suidae, the family of pigs, is in Artiodactyla. Flower discussed the degree of development of the bones of the toe among even-toed ungulates in Flower 1876, pp. 269–71.
3
Zacharias reported that CD later forwarded the letter from W. H. Flower, 3 May 1877, to him (see Zacharias 1882, p. 77).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.1 Station] before del ‘Orpington S.E.R.’
1.4 at … Surgeons 1.5] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10941,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10941