March 23, 1989

Dear Bill,

Delighted to hear from you and learn of your recovery. Good luck.

Your comment on the need to take a general approach reminds me that George Carter sent me a paper today on The tardy domestication of the duck. I had been unable to find it and am away too much to use interlibrary loan. Anyway the author is a medievalist and concludes that the duck was not domesticated until the middle ages. Well and good but this neglects the east. I think ducks and quail must have been domesticated at least by the time of the invention of artificial incubation because neither species is dependably broody under domestication while the chicken is. Can’t imagine the need to invent incubators for the primitive chicken.

I was stuck in Bangkok last month trying to get a seat to Taiwan and went to the zoo to kill time. Saw Gallus bankiva  there and was struck again by its small size and furtiveness. If the early use of the chicken was for fighting I am sure it depends on their being from another much more aggressive progenitor.

Crawford is editing a book on Avian Genetics with different people doing various sections. He sent the Muscovy section to me for review. I thought it so bad I told him I couldn’t do it. Hollander had done the same thing. Guess he is having his problems.

Will look forward to you paper on chickens in the Pacific.

Do you have?

Herre W., and M. Rohrs, 1983. Abstamming und Entwicklung des Hausfuegels. In Handbuch der Gefluegelphysiolologie Teil 1 Mehner and Hiartfield eds Karger Basel and London, pp 19-53,

said to contain information on the origins of the chicken duck and turkey. If you get it let me know.

Be of good cheer!