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LETTERS FROM CHARLES DARWIN

IN 1882 I published in a history of Pettis County, Missouri, the following:

A flock of geese, belonging to ex-Marshall Kelly of Sedalia, presents an interesting feature of malformations. In 1873 a gander had one of his wings so injured that it hung horizontally at right angles to the body, in the same manner as is not infrequently seen in other flocks, a result of injuries received. In 1874, one of the young of the flock presented a wing similarly affected; the following year its offspring showed the same features, and this has been continued to the present time. As many as two thirds of the flock have at one time presented this peculiarity, some in both wings. Believing that it was a case of "the inheritance of effects of injuries," Mr. R. A. Blair published an account of it, and sent a copy to Mr. Charles Darwin, and received from him the following letter:

[27 December 1877]

Dear Sir: I am much obliged to you for kindly informing me of the case of the goose. It seems to be a remarkable case of inheritance of effects of injury, and as such cases are very rare, it would be quite worth while to have the facts carefully examined. If you could obtain a wing, and would send it to me, I should be much obliged. The wing might be cut off at the joint with the body, and dried with feathers on, before a hot fire. To make the case of more value, it would be very advisable to ascertain whether the goose had any offspring before the injury, and so, whether they were normal, and not malformed in any way.

Dear sir, yours faithfully,

CHARLES DARWIN

Mr. Blair then sent a wing of one of the geese, and received the following answer:

[14 April 1878]

Dear Sir: You will think that I have been very neglectful, in not having sooner thanked you for the wing of the goose, the photograph and your last interesting letter; but I thought it best to wait until receiving Professor Flower's report, and you will see by the enclosed the cause of his delay. If you are willing to take the trouble to get your interesting case thoroughly investigated, it will be necessary to procure from the owner the wings of half a dozen birds, some of them quite young; and if possible the old one which had his wing broken. They ought to be sent in spirits, and they had better be addressed to Professor Flower, Royal College of Surgeons, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, and I had better be informed when they are dispatched. Should you be inclined to take so much trouble, I hope that you will allow me to say that I should be very glad to pay for the geese and for the several other contingent expenses. Your first letter and Professor Flower's had better be returned to me hereafter. There is one other point which ought, if possible to be ascertained, viz: when the old gander had his wing broken was it wounded so that blood was discharged? If wounded did the wound suppurate? Did the wing heal quickly or slowly? These are important points in relation to the inheritance of mutilations. Pray accept my best thanks for your kindness and I remain, Dear Sir,

Yours faithfully

CHARLES DARWIN

A number of wings were then sent to Dr. Flower, who made a report to Mr. Darwin, in which he says:

[6 (December) 1878)

The bones, muscles and ligaments seem quite normal except for this twisting on their axis, which exactly corresponds, as I mentioned before, to talipes or club foot in man. The wings of the very little goslings being dried and very small could not be examined with any good result but the most curious and unsatisfactory part of the whole story is that the wing of the old gander, the supposed fors et origo of all the mischief is perfectly normal, and presents no trace of ever having been injured in any way, discernible after the closest examination. It has certainly never been broken or dislocated, though of course we can not now be sure whether it may not have had a partial twist from which it has now recovered.

With this letter and with the full and detailed report of Dr. Flower's assistant, Mr. Darwin wrote as follows:

[9 December 1878]

Dear Sir: Professor Flower has suffered from a long illness, and this has caused much delay in the examination of the wings of the geese. But I received yesterday his report and letter which I enclose, as you may like to see them. I fear there is no connection between the deformity and the injury. The owner when he saw several goslings thus deformed, a not uncommon form of

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quasi inheritance, remembered the accident, and naturally attributed the deformity to this cause. It has been probably a case of "post hoc" and not "propter hoc." I grieve that you should have expended so much time, trouble and great kindness in vain. As for myself I am well accustomed in my experimental work to get definite results but once in three or four times, and thus alone can science prosper. With my renewed thanks, I remain, Dear Sir, Yours faithfully,

CHARLES DARWIN

The above publication did not give the dates of the letters; however, the first was in 1877 and the last in 1878.

F. A. SAMPSON

COLUMBIA, MO