LETTER 437. TO J. JENNER WEIR.
4, Chester Place, Regent's Park, N.W., March 22nd [1868].

I hope that you will not think me ungrateful that I have not sooner
answered your note of the 16th; but in fact I have been overwhelmed both
with calls and letters; and, alas! one visit to the British Museum of an
hour or hour and a half does for me for the whole day.

I was particularly glad to hear your and your brother's statement about the
"gay" deceiver-pigeons. (437/1. Some cock pigeons "called by our English
fanciers gay birds are so successful in their gallantries that, as Mr. H.
Weir informs me, they must be shut up, on account of the mischief which
they cause.") I did not at all know that certain birds could win the
affections of the females more than other males, except, indeed, in the
case of the peacock. Conversely, Mr. Hewitt, I remember, states that in
making hybrids the cock pheasant would prefer certain hen fowls and
strongly dislike others. I will write to Mr. H. in a few days, and ask him
whether he has observed anything of this kind with pure unions of fowls,
ducks, etc. I had utterly forgotten the case of the ruff (437/2. The
ruff, Machetes pugnax, was believed by Montague to be polygamous. "Descent
of Man," Edition I., Volume I., page 270.), but now I remember having heard
that it was polygamous; but polygamy with birds, at least, does not seem
common enough to have played an important part. So little is known of
habits of foreign birds: Wallace does not even know whether Birds of
Paradise are polygamous. Have you been a large collector of caterpillars?
I believe so. I inferred from a letter from Dr. Wallace, of Colchester,
that he would account for Mr. Stainton and others rearing more female than
male by their having collected the larger and finer caterpillars. But I
misunderstood him, and he maintains that collectors take all caterpillars,