Ɛpsilon

From Thomas Stretch to W. B. Tegetmeier   25 February 1868

Ormskirk

25th Feby 1868

Dear Sir,

In response to your letter requesting information respecting the relative numbers of males & females, I beg to give you my mite of information with respect to Poultry—1

In eight years the number of chickens reared by me is as follows, viz

Cocks (Males) 487
Pullets (Females) 514 (514)
1,001 2

Yours truly | Th. Stretch

W B Tegetemier Esq

CD annotations

Verso of letter:

♀ ♂
514 : 487 = 100 : y = 94.7473

1
At CD’s request, Tegetmeier had placed a notice in the Field requesting information on the proportion of the sexes in domestic animals (see letter to W. B. Tegetmeier, 11 February [1868] and n. 2). Tegetmeier probably gave Stretch’s letter to CD, together with a related memorandum, which reads: ‘Mr Stretch’s fowls are cochins of a very superior quality and always selling for a very high prices   I should think it most likely that the record would be accurately kept’ (DAR 86: C13).
2
CD reported this information in Descent 1: 306.
3
The annotation is in CD’s hand with the exception of the proportional figure ‘94.747’, which is supplied in pencil. CD gave the proportion as 94.7 to 100 in Descent 1: 306.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-5934,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-5934