COLLABORATOR OF DARWIN 107 



deduction relating to fowls or pigeons was derived 

 from Tegetmeier. But the great naturalist's 

 invariable practice of acknowledging the source 

 of any information he might use in his works 

 made it, as Tegetmeier always maintained, a 

 privilege to co-operate with him. He may fairly 

 be called Darwin's right-hand man in this con- 

 nection, for the minuteness of Darwin's inquiries 

 on some points is exactly matched by the minute- 

 ness of Tegetmeier's information thereon. Thus, 

 when writing his Expression of the Emotions, 

 he cites Tegetmeier as his authority for stating 

 that with game cocks the erection of the feathers 

 of the head is recognised as a sign of cowardice : 

 that if pigeons are reared exclusively on small 

 grain they will starve before they eat beans, 

 but that if, while hungry, a bean-eating pigeon 

 is put among them they will follow its example, 

 thereafter adopting the bean-eating habit ; and 

 that though the sparrow usually attacks only 

 the yellow crocus it will (as Tegetmeier found 

 from experiment) attack blue, purple and white 

 crocuses, led on, he assumed, by some bolder 

 member of the species when, after two years, no 

 yellow crocuses were to be found in his garden. 

 These things, though small in themselves, go far 

 to show the value of the help received by the 

 greater from the lesser naturalist. Moreover, 

 whenever Darwin was in want of or in difficulties 

 for a specimen pigeon, fowl or rabbit, skull or 



