To W. B. Tegetmeier   19 October [1856]¹

My dear Sir

I am glad you think the young Cock worth having: it will do for the Pot, after you have looked at it.— It shall be at Carstangs on Thursday morning, which is first day our Carrier goes up.—² These Fowls came from interior village of Sierra Leone, & please state that they were sent to me by the kindness of Staff-Surgeon D^r. Daniell.³ He states that they offer a good idea of the pure fowls of that country & for some way north of it. The fowls further S. on the west Coast, viz at Congo &c are smaller, not much larger than Bantams & are very beautiful of red, white & black colours. But since I wrote, I have on making further enquiry heard that he has some fears that another cock had access to the Hen, & this may account for one of my two Hens having more of the Malay aspect. He says these Cockrels quite resemble in plumage the pure mother.— I observe that they are very pugnacious even the hens chasing my other fowls.— It is odd that they do not seem to have felt the prodigious change of climate, & from the first have been very amorous! I notice they eat the leaves of the Dandelion,—a plant they could never have seen before arriving here.

I cannot think of anything else to tell you about them.—

If you kill the cockrel, you had better keep the head.—

I am truly pleased that the Scanderoons have been worth your receiving.—⁴

I sh^d. like to have a Catalogue of poor excellent M^r Yarrells Library &c—⁵

Yours in Haste | C. Darwin

P.S. I sh^d. be extremely glad of a few pure Malay Eggs.