To W. B. Tegetmeier   24 June [1856]¹

My dear Sir

I brought home the Laughers quite safely:² I sh^d. have written sooner, but I feared to give rather a bad Report of one, which seemed ill the next morning, but is now better, but yet not quite well.— I shall be very curious to hear their coo.—

The Scanderoons have a very large massive frame, & if, as I suspect, they are youngish Birds, will be ultimately very large.—³ I shall be really pleased to let you have a pair, whenever they breed; but sh^d. they lay only one egg the first time, I shall most likely sacrifice that, as I am very anxious to compare soon all very young Pigeons: but afterwards you may rely on my keeping the very first pair for you.—

If it sh^d. turn out that you could spare a pair of M^r Gullivers Runts,⁴ they would be very valuable to me. I have a pair of poorish Runts from M^r Baily,⁵ but the Hen seems to be quite sterile; & I shall kill her before long for skeleton, if she does not improve her ways.— I am really glad to hear so good an account of your Polands: mine are Hatched, but I have not seen them yet as I was forced to send them to Farm House; we not then having a broody Hen.

Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

I counted my Pigeons the other day & I have 89!

P.S. | Do you ever see M^r Gulliver, if so, I wish you would kindly remind him, what a valuable treasure to me an old dead Bird would be.— I did once venture to ask him—