To W. B. Tegetmeier   5 June [1858]1

Down Bromley Kent

June 5th

My dear Sir

I am sorry to say that I have been so much engaged with other objects, that I have not begun with my Pigeon M.S. but hope to begin in weeks time.—2

I have lately been hard at work with Bees cells, a friend having lent me a glass Hive, which could open, so that I cd. take out combs.3 I have got commencement of cells; but I write now chiefly to remind you, shd you find the cylindrical Bees cell, how extremely much I wish to examine them.—4

This note requires no answer, without indeed you shd. have found the specimen.— You shall hear from me, whenever I have done with my Pigeons.— But I have lately lost several good Birds, my best Barb, & blue owl & good white Trumpeter—

Yours very sincerely | C. Darwin

1
Dated by the reference to CD’s manuscript on pigeons and by the relationship to the letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 9 May [1858].
2
CD had promised to give Tegetmeier his pigeons when he had finished writing up the results of his study (see letters to W. B. Tegetmeier, [21 April 1858] and 9 May [1858]). He began the manuscript later in the month (see letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 22 June [1858]).
3
CD refers to the ‘observatory hive’ lent to him by Louis Knight Bruce (see letter to W. E. Darwin, [26 May 1858]).
4
See letters to W. B. Tegetmeier, [21 April 1858] and 9 May [1858].

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.2 begun] after del ‘done’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-2280,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-2280