Ɛpsilon

From Albert Müller   20 May 1868

2, Camden Villas, | Penge. S.E.

May 20. 1868.

Dear Sir!

You have no doubt learned, that my friend Mr. W. Armistead of Leeds died in Feby. last & of course this deplorable event has cut short all hopes, to see a work on Galls out at present.—1

Having long been a modest helpmate of Mr. Armistead in his endeavours, I know by his letters, that you were so kind as to send him a contribution of Indian Galls, & as I have made up my mind to pursue this study & am promised Mr. Armistead’s papers, (tho’ his collection is not accessible to me), I shall be thankful, if you would kindly remember this, when the opportunity occurs & extend to me that support you so readily granted to my late lamented friend.—2

Whether the following fact is novel to you or not, I repeat it, to make sure of either case.—

A relation of mine, a Captain formerly in the P. & O. Co.,3 tells me, that in China only unicoloured animals, such as dogs, cats, rats etc. are brought to market, as the natives have a great objection to use partycoloured animals for food & in fact destroy them in the litter.—

Would not this tend to render a breed all of one colour?

I am, | Dear Sir, | your’s sincerely | Albert Müller

Charles Darwin Esqre.

1
Wilson Armistead published several papers on gall insects, but his book on the subject was unfinished at the time of his death in 1868 (Royal Society catalogue of scientific papers, Entomologist 4 (1868–9): 49).
2
No correspondence between CD and Armistead has been found, but CD told Benjamin Dann Walsh that he had sent Armistead a collection of galls from Ceylon (Sri Lanka; see Correspondence vol. 14, letter to B. D. Walsh, [19] April [1866]).
3
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company had been sailing to Hong Kong since 1845 (Rabson and O’Donoghue 1988, p. 17).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6191,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6191