Ɛpsilon

To William Yarrell   6 [February 1856]

Down Bromley Kent

6th.

My dear Mr Yarrell

The Pigeons are all quite well, vigorous, & in good spirits.— They are really quite beautiful.— I have now 15 kinds of Pigeons!—1

Pray give my very sincere & cordial thanks to Mrs. Cotton.—2 I send with this the Book & your Cage.—

Pray believe me, | Yours most truly obliged | Charles Darwin

1
Early in 1855, when CD began his study of pigeons, Yarrell had advised him about breeds and how to procure them. See Correspondence vol. 5, letters to W. D. Fox, 19 March [1855] and 27 March [1855].
2
Mrs Cotton has not been identified but according to his Catalogue of Down specimens (Down House MS), CD acquired red tumbler pigeons and trumpeters from her. CD’s Account book (Down House MS) has regular entries, beginning in June 1855, recording payments made for the purchases of pigeons. By the end of June 1856, he had acquired eighty-nine birds (see letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 24 June [1856]).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.2 6] over ‘5’
1.1 spirits—] full stop over comma

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-1829,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-1829