August 7, 1984

Dear Mr Plant,

I thank for your letter which arrived some days ago and it is nice to learn you have a Dutch friend. We also have a family in Australia, cousins but not in your part, but in Victoria and South Australia, the latter came in your country at the same time as your friend, after serving the Dutch Army in Indonesia. His name is S.Banning. There are also children of cousins who have gone to Australia and live here now.

Friesland is a part of the Netherlands as NSW is a part of the Australia. There are Frisian Fowls here. Vierlanden is a part of Germany, in modern poultry books only Vierlanden Ducks are mentioned. I found one remark in an old Dutch poultry book on Vierlanden Fowl, written about 1909. It is a normal, common breed, may be crossing with a single comb and a type like a Hamburger fowl. That is all.

I wrote 2 books of about 200 pages on Poultry bantams, and in the first book about 4 pages I spent on domestication, origin, distribution and history of poultry and I quoted Dr A.L.Hagedoorn. He was a famous man on genes and evolution. He visited many countries, studied domestic animals, he also was a breeder and I could follow his ideas very well. He was a modern scholar and practical. Darwin was a genius and he is the father of the evolution. But evolution is the same thing as domestication.

This week we start the new judging season. In fall the first shows start, but now we judge young birds without a show. The weather is good, not hot but round 20° Celsius. There is a change of rain.

I have a pair of Chinese geese and I let the female breed on 6 eggs. Now there are 5 young goslings and it is good to seen how careful the parents are for the new-born.

In our former Dutch Standard, Temminck’s Gallus giganteus is mentioned with an illustration to Finsterbusch. There is also a part on Araucanas, from which is nothing known with certainly. But it is sure that European fowl is imported into Chile, which must have been mixed with the original exclusive Araucana with the eartufts. The original Chile fowl must have had the blue egg color. Van Gink, the well known Dutch poultryman who wrote the text for the standard, writes here were Castillian types, Spanish game types, Oriental game types, Asiatic types with beard and feathered legs, European crested types, and frizzles. I am curious to read your opinion on Araucanas.

Later I’ll write you after I have studied your writings. Your breeding season must start soon now, so I wish you lot of breeder luck.

Sincerely yours,