l8o EVOLUTION [CHAP. Ill 



Letter I21 To W. B. Tegetmeier. 



Mr. Darwin's letters to Mr. Tegetmeier, taken as a whole, give a 

 striking picture of the amount of assistance which Darwin received from 

 him during many years. Some citations from these letters given in Life 

 and Letters, II., pp. 52, 53, show how freely and generously Mr. Tegetmeier 

 gave his help, and how much his co-operation was valued. 



The following letter is given as an example of the questions on which 

 Darwin sought Mr. Tegetmeier's opinion and guidance. 



Down, March 22 [1861]. 



I ought to have answered your last note sooner ; but I 

 have been very busy. How wonderfully successful you have 

 been in breeding Pouters ! You have a good right to be 

 proud of your accuracy of eye and judgment. I am in the 

 thick of poultry, having just commenced, and shall be truly 

 grateful for the skulls, if you can send them by any convey- 

 ance to the Nag's Head next Thursday. 



You ask about vermilion wax : positively it was not in the 

 state of comb, but in solid bits and cakes, which were thrown 

 with other rubbish not far from my hives. You can make 

 any use of the fact you like. Combs could be concentrically 

 and variously coloured and dates recorded by giving for a 

 few days wax darkly coloured with vermilion and indigo, and 

 I daresay other substances. You ask about my crossed fowls, 

 and this leads me to make a proposition to you, which I hope 

 cannot be offensive to you. I trust you know me too well to 

 think that I would propose anything objectionable to the best 

 of my judgment. The case is this : for my object of treating 

 poultry I must give a sketch of several breeds, with remarks on 

 various points. I do not feel strong on the subject. Now, when 

 my MS. is fairly copied in an excellent handwriting, would 

 you read it over, which would take you at most an hour or 

 two, and make comments in pencil on it ; and accept, like a 

 barrister, a fee, we will say, of a couple of guineas. This would 

 be a great assistance to me, specially if you would allow me to 

 put a note, stating that you, a distinguished judge and fancier, 

 had read it over. I would state that you doubted or concurred, 

 as each case might be, of course striking out what you were 

 sure was incorrect. There would be little new in my MS. to 

 you ; but if by chance you used any of my facts or conclusions 

 before I published, I should wish you to state that they were 

 on my authority ; otherwise I shall be accused of stealing 



