Ɛpsilon

To F. B. Goodacre   3 September [1878]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.

Sept. 3d.

Dear Sir

The geese arrived late last night. in excellent condition.2

They were very clamorous when turned out into a loose box & ate a good supper. This morning they seem as vigorous & hearty as any geese in the world.— I do not think your view of the two forms being domestic varieties will hold good;— Not only many ornithologists put them in distinct genera, but the wild type of each is known.3 If they are called wild varieties of the same species, the terms “varieties” & “species” become utterly vague & useless.— It was the fact that the two forms must be considered, in my opinion, as good species as any in the world, which makes it so important to ascertain the fertility of the hybrids.

A very few such cases (mentioned in my Origin of Species & some subsequently recorded) are on record, & these perhaps are not fully established.—4

I thank you very sincerely for your great kindness & remain, Dear Sir, | Yours faithfully, | Ch. Darwin

1
This letter was previously published in Correspondence vol. 26 from a copy in DAR 221.4: 205. The transcription here is from the original letter. The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from F. B. Goodacre, 2 September 1878 (Correspondence vol. 26).
2
See Correspondence vol. 26, letter from F. B. Goodacre, 2 September 1878. CD had asked for two geese, crosses between the Chinese goose and the common goose, so that he could test their fertility.
3
See Correspondence vol. 26, letter from F. B. Goodacre, 2 September 1878 and n. 2. The Chinese goose is a domestic variety of the wild swan goose (Anser cygnoides). The common European domestic goose is a variety of the wild greylag goose (A. anser). The Chinese goose was sometimes assigned to the genus Cygnopsis (see, for example, G. R. Gray 1869–71, 3: 75).
4
See Origin 6th ed., chapter 9, especially pp. 240–1, where CD mentioned fertile hybrids of distinct species of muntjac deer, pheasants, moths, and the hare and rabbit, as well as the common and the Chinese goose. CD wrote that in Britain, hybrids of the common and Chinese goose had been bred successfully with the parent species; there had been only one reported example of hybrids breeding successfully among themselves, but he had been assured that whole flocks of hybrid geese were maintained in India. See also Descent 2: 114, and Correspondence vol. 6, letter to T. C. Eyton, 2 November [1857].

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

2.1 out] interl
3.1 (mentioned … recorded) 3.2] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11686,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11686