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,