From J. V. Carus   5 October 1867

My dear Sir,

I am sorry I pother you again, but I cannot help it. It is so very difficult to get the technical terms for many breeds which are either unknown in Germany or only described in pamphlets or periodicals unknown or inaccessible to me. You mention a breed of the game-fowl as “Duckwings”. Now first of all, game-fowl is the race of the “fighting cocks”; isn’t it? I imagine “duckwing” means having similar markings on the wings as the wild duck. Am I right? What then is “Piles”?¹ The Hamburgh breed has “spangled” and “pencilled” forms. Is “spangled” synonymous or pretty nearly so with “shining”? I think “pencilled” is something like “marked with narrow short lines”, what we should call “gestrichelt”.² Does any technical, zoological term exist for hackles? I know these feathers, but as you speak of hackles in the loins, I think there ought to be a more general name for this kind of feathers.³ The 13^th. breed of your list is the Sooty fowl.⁴ I find in “Drechsler, die Zucht-Hühner” a breed called negro-fowl. I rather doubt if these two breeds are the same, as you say, that the hens alone are characterized so as you describe the breed; but I find no other breed in any way agreeing with your description.⁵

For the present I must stop with the translation, as I have no sheets. About a fortnight ago I got the last. Almost at the same time Schweizerbart wrote me, that the first volume was nearly printed off according to an answer he got from Murray.⁶ Most likely the rest (pp. 257–420) will come together.

May I keep Neumeister till the sheets of the translation containing the pigeons are corrected?⁷

I beg your pardon that I troubled you anew. Believe me | Yours most truly, | J. Victor Carus