WCP2198

[1]¹

UFFICIO ORNITOLOGCO

NEL MUSEO ZOOLOGICO DEI

VERTEBRATI

R[egio]. Istituto di Studi Superiori

Firenze

Firenze, 19 Via Romana

29^th March 1888

My dear Mr. Wallace,

In answer to your welcome letter of March 21^st, I must tell you that in Italy, far from being common, hybrids of the Sheep and Goat are unknown. I have never seen any myself, but wishing to secure all available information I wrote once to several friends, well up in such matters, and got from all the same negative answer as far as Italy is concerned — I have however managed to scrape up some positive information on the subject and on the question of the breeding inter se of such hybrids — which I shall now give hoping that it may be of some use to you.

I need not tell you that there being such hybrids is now generally accepted as a fact. Buffon (Sup[p]lements tom. III p. 7, 1756), obtained one such hybrid in 1751 and eight in 1752 — Sanson ("La Culture" VI. p. 372, 1865), mentions a case observed in the Vosges (France) — Geoff[roy]. St. Hillaire (Hist[oire]. Nat[urelle]. Gén[érale]. des reg[nes]. org[aniques]. III. p. 163.) was the first to mention I believe that in different parts of South America [2] The Ram is more usually crossed with the she-goat than the Sheep with the he-goat. The well known pellones of Chile are produced by the 2^d and 3^d generation of such hybrids (Gay, Hist[oria]. de Chile I. p. 466 (Agricoltura [sic]) 1862.) — Years ago in London hybrids were obtained twice from the Muflon and the Goat (Revue central d'Agricolture [sic] 1846, p. 339).

Hybrids bred from Goat and Sheep are called chabin in french and cabruno in spanish., and in accordance to the species to which the female belongs such hybrids have been named Ovis capraries or Ovis arieticapra — In Chile such hybrids are called carneros lanudos; their breeding inter se appears to be not always successful and often the original cross has to be recommenced to obtain the proportion of 3/8 of the he-goat and 5/8 of sheep for the capraries, and 3/8 of Ram and 5/8 of she-goat for the arieticapra; such being the reputed best hybrids.

If I can be of any further use to you in this or in other matters, I shall be most [3] happy — meanwhile with much regard and cordial best wishes, believe me

Ever your's truly | Henry H. Giglioli. [signature]