RECORD: Darwin, C. R. 1882. [Letter to James Sinclair, 1882]. In Sigma [James Macdonald], Polled Aberdeen or Angus cattle. Origin and early history. National Live-Stock Journal [Chicago, Illinois], 13 (August): 363.
REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed and edited by John van Wyhe 5.2022. RN1
NOTE: See record in the Freeman Bibliographical Database, enter its Identifier here.
James Sinclair (1853-1915) was a journalist and cattle breeder and sub-editor of the Irish Farmer's Gazette. He later published, together with James Macdonald, secretary of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, History of polled Aberdeen or Angus cattle. Edinburgh and London: Blackwood and Sons, 1882. Darwin's letter is reprinted there introduced with the line "In a courteous communication to us, dated January 23, 1882, this gifted naturalist expresses his regret that he had 'not had time'…", pp. 12-13. Presumably this article and letter may have been first published in the Irish Farmer's Gazette or other UK periodical.
There is a 21 January 1882 letter to Darwin from Sinclair (CUL-DAR177.174) to which this letter is the reply, although this letter was not previously known to survive.
See: https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13634.xml
[page] 363
POLLED ABERDEEN OR ANGUS CATTLE.
ORIGIN AND EARLY HISTORY.
(Continued from page 317.)
I have been privileged with the perusal of an unpublished letter from Mr. Darwin, dated Jan. 23, 1882—three months before his death—in which, responding to an inquiry for information as to the probable cause of the loss of horns, this distinguished naturalist wrote:
I have not had time, during several years, to attend to the very interesting subject of domesticated animals. No one can give any explanation—although, no doubt, there must be a cause of the loss of horns—any more than of the loss of hair, both losses strongly tending to be inherited. It is, I think, probable that the loss of horns has occurred often since cattle were domesticated, though I can call to mind only a case in Paraguay, about a century ago. Is there not a sub-breed of the so-called Wild Park cattle which is hornless?
Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
File last updated 28 November, 2022