Ɛpsilon

To L. C. Wedgwood   8 June [1867–72]1

Down

June 8th

My dear Lucy

I hear that your Dog is a barker: please observe for me whether the (upper) lips are at all retracted or everted when he barks & just before he barks. My impression is that if you open a dog’s mouth lips almost hide teeth; but that they are much more exposed, when he barks, which implies some contraction or eversion.

You are so good an observer that I know I can trust your conclusion. The Bark ought not to be a savage one, as that wd give tendency to snarl— a joyful bark or bark of good spirits wd. be best.—2

Think of any fact about expression of any emotion in any of your birds.—3

Yours affect. | C. Darwin

Our Polly4 will not bark except as she rushes away to some supposed enemy in forest.

1
The date range is established from the fact that the content of the letter relates to CD’s work on expression (see n. 2, below). CD was working on expression with a view to publishing between 1867 and 1872.
2
CD discussed the movement of the lips in dogs' barking for joy and play biting in Expression, p. 121. Wedgwood sent some information on her dog’s snarling in her letter of [25 April 1870] (Correspondence vol. 18).
3
Wedgwood sent CD information on turkeys in her letter to 20 November [1871] (Correspondence vol. 19).
4
Polly was a rough-haired fox terrier (Atkins 1974, p. 78).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.1 (upper)] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-7223,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-7223