Ɛpsilon

To John Bush   29 February [1868]1

Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.

Feb. 29th

Dear Sir

Mr Buckland has told me that you would excuse the liberty which I take in writing to you.—2 I am anxious for any information in regard to the proportional numbers of males & females born to any animals; but this can hardly be told except with domestic or semi-domestic animals.— Mr. B. says that you have bred many rats, & if you have kept any Memoranda, or have a decided impression on the relative numbers of the two sexes, I shd be grateful for information.—

Perhaps you can also tell me whether male rats fight for the possession of the female, & whether an old & powerful rat is polygamous & will keep several wifes.—3

Hoping that you will excuse my troubling you, I remain | Dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | Ch. Darwin

My address for next 3 or 4 weeks will be

6. Queen Anne St

Cavendish Sqe

London W.4

1
The year is established by the relationsip between this letter and the letter from F. T. Buckland, 27 February 1868.
3
CD noted that male rats were said by some rat-catchers to live with several females in Descent 1: 268.
4
This is the address of CD’s brother, Erasmus Alvey Darwin; CD stayed there from 3 to 11 March 1868. He then stayed with his sister-in-law, Sarah Elizabeth Wedgwood, at 4 Chester Place, until 1 April (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.3 hardly] interl
1.3 except] above del ‘only’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-5961,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-5961