From C. H. Brett   1 May 1871

6, Chichester Street, | Belfast.

1, May 1871

Sir,

In yr. “Descent of man” Vol. 1 p. 260 you say “Snipes do not breed here”. Excuse me observing that they certainly do breed in Ireland for I have frequently found their nests.1

Your obedt. servt. (& instructed disciple) | Chas. H. Brett

Chas. Darwin Esq: | M.D.

CD annotations

Top of letter: ‘I ought to say do not habitually breed here’ pencil
1
CD removed this sentence (which first appeared in the second printing of the first edition of Descent) in the second edition of Descent (see Decent 2d ed., p. 212). On the breeding habits of the common snipe (Gallinago gallinago), see Holloway comp. 1996, p. 184.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-7732,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-7732