Mrs
Annie Banning-Vogelpoel
Waardenburg - Netherlands
15-4-85
Dear
Mrs Banning,
I
thank you very much for your informative letter of 20-3-85.
Your
reference to the National Geographic
of 1927 and 1948 cause me to take them off the shelf and look them over and to
my amazement found that page 387 and 388 has been torn out of the 1948 Easter
Egg chicken article. I had never noticed it before. The page had been taken
out before I bought it. I was looking for the bit about Dr Wetmore that you
mentioned and it just wasn’t there except I can see where it has been torn
out. By the way I believe Dr Wetmore is now deceased. Therefore your
information is very interesting for me.
I
thank you also for the quote from The
Chicken Book by Smith and Daniel. It is very interesting. I can recall
when doing the research on the Pekin Bantam I began looking to the grouse as
being possibly involved. From memory I think one variety of grouse has
feathered legs. I must check back amongst my books and papers on this point. I
am much obliged for this information. It could be quite a possibility grouse x
chicken. I will look further into this possibility.
Professor
Carter spoke in the chapter on pre-Columbian chicken in Man
across the sea of the very rapid diffusion of the chicken in South America
after the Spanish arrived. It spread so quickly that it is suspect suggesting
that there were pre-Columbian indigenous
chickens in South America.
Thank
you for your comment on my Araucana origin theory. I am chasing another lead
which may help the theory, a paper by R.G.Somes Jr.(1978b): Ear
tufts: skin structure mutation of
the Araucana fowl - Journal of Heredity - 1969 pag 91-6. My local library
is getting a copy for me. I will still find any explanation for the
rumplessness.
From
F.B.Hutt Genetics of the fowl (1949) “it was illustrated by Aldrovandi
(1600) and labelled as Persian Fowl”. Brown (1906) quoted a correspondent
statement that near Liege in Belgium there was a breed called Rumpless, or
Hedge Fowls (with no tails). Castellò (1924) while investigating the origin
of the Araucano Fowls of Chile found that the Indians of that name preferred
rumpless fowls rather than the ones with tails. These identical reports come
from two different continents. There are apparently differences between
hereditary rumplessness and non genetic, but congenital type which appears
sporadically (Landauer, 1978).
However
I will have to gather further information as to whether rumplessness is
genetically linked to blue egg and pea comb to substantiate my theory.
I
do have a book, Araucana Poulterers
Handbook written by David Caudill (1975). He covered a lot of ground
however without going into it I find the subject becomes somewhat confusing. I
will have to read it thoroughly.
Yes,
the fauna etc from different continents do certainly differ and have their
particular traits as you say. I will just keep working along hoping more
definite information comes to hand. I find it very satisfying collecting all
this information. In the long term someone may unearth some more facts that
will give us the answers we are looking for.
OK
your weather, we are just starting to feel the coolness of winter, but of
course do not have the harsh winter like you do. Have had some lovely days
over the past month. So until next time all the best to you.
Sincerely
yours,