Ɛpsilon

To Arthur Nicols   [20 March 1873]1

[16 Montague Street, London]

The experiments on the sense of smell in cats and dogs seem to me very good.2 From your previous note, I know you do not believe in the stories of cats returning home over unknown ground; but if such a case is mentioned in Nature, I would suggest your sending your experiment to that journal for publication, as bearing on Mr. Wallace’s theory, which I am half inclined to admit.3

incomplete

1
The date is established by a reference in the letter from Arthur Nicols of 8 December 1875 (Calendar no. 10290).
3
For Nicols’s doubts about Alfred Russel Wallace’s theory that cats could navigate by sense of smell, see his letter of 21 February 1873. Nicols does not appear to have published his experiment before it appeared in his Natural history sketches (Nicols 1885, pp. 51–2).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8817G,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8817G