From W. R. Grove   [5–8 July 1871]¹

out & may not the arm &c & the direction of the hair on it be due to the same cause, of course it is transmitted hereditarily & in time becomes connected with the general organization.² I once burned my fore finger terribly with Phosphorus & when the new flesh had granulated & the old skin was cut away I noticed the same creases beautifully marked on the new flesh—

As I am boring you with a letter I will mention a few points which occurred to me in reading the ‘Descent of Man’

1^st In speaking of the teats in the male p 210. 211.³ you do not seem to have noticed the curious fact that the male teats yield milk or a secretion like it at the period of puberty. I have often seen boys at school from 14 to 15 years of age squeezing milk from their teats & have done it myself. The teats are very sore at that period & something like a button can be felt in them—

2^d do you give enough credit to natural selection as to the beards & manes of animals?⁴ They generally occur in those which fight with the teeth & more in the male than the female eg Lions Men, &c protecting the glandular & delicate parts— Horses when fighting bite at the upper part of the neck, perhaps to nip the spine & there the wild horse or welch pony has a protection on both sides & not on one as our combing has made the mane grow—

3 I think you mention somewhere the induced but now hereditary habit of the pointer or setter standing to game⁵   I can give you positive personal testimony to a young setter whom I reared myself not only pointing but backing another dog the first time he was ever taken into the field & when less than a year old—⁶

4 Shooting one day at Ramsay Island St Davids Head,⁷ the birds puffins guillemots &c flew about us within 10 to 20 y^ds for an hour or two but gradually kept increasing this distance & in the afternoon seemed to have learned accurately the distance at which they were safe, how did they learn this? the dead told no tales & the wounded generally flew out far to sea—

5 Is the habit of dogs running & barking after carriages the remains of their progenitors habit of chasing large beasts? & do Cows sheep &c all unite & turn & face dogs now from a similar original habit of defence

6 I once took a young spaniel 5 miles in the pocket of my shooting coat on Horseback, lost her & in the evening I found she had got home   she had never been beyond the garden before, whence or what this faculty?

Ever yours sincerely | W R Grove