Dr Clive Carefoot
Preston - England

3-5-1986

Dear Clive,

My apologies for not answering your letter of 24-12-85 sooner but I’ve actually had pretty rough year one way another, consequently my correspondence has lagged. However I’m starting to catch up on it and I am feeling a little better.

Perhaps I told you on operation on my eye last May to have a cataract removed and a lens implant. Normally a simple operation. However I was not so lucky and finished up having three operations as well as laser treatment. Really I’m lucky to have the eye at all. The overall sight has improved but not as much as it should. The side effect from the anaesthetic and heavy medication affected me psychologically and as I have had over the past few years a number of personal problems and am living on my own I didn’t help.

However I think the worst is over and I guess there are plenty worse off than me. As they say You saw the man with no shoes, then you saw the man with no feet.

I am beginning to get my act together again and have completed the typing of the material for the Gallus species. This discusses the Jungle Fowls and the possibilities of the Malays and Asiatics (Cochin, Brahma, Langshan) being different species to Gallus Bankiva etc.

Yes, you and I are at different ends of the spectrum in our studies, however both I feel are necessary and if we can contribute something to the overall picture I’m sure we will both get satisfaction from it. As you are aware, my knowledge of genetics is pretty limited. Both, you and Fred Jeffrey, have assisted me in understanding the basics. This has been much appreciated.

You know it surprises me that poultry breeders I know here in Australia .mostly have no idea of the value of genetics in the breeding of fowls. The majority of them have no desire to learn about the subject either.

Glad to hear that you have Creative Poultry Breeding off the pad. There is no doubt the cost of publishing is expensive. I don’t know how many copies you had printed. Glad to know that you are getting some return. Hope it works out alright cost wise is the reason my efforts are put out in a pretty amateurish form. I just didn’t have the money to get a good job done. I just felt I had to get it into print and it was the only way I could see of doing it.

I have been endeavouring to get some financial assistance from the Government, but I don’t have much hopes, only negative replies.

Yes, I think it is a wise move to sell them privately, from what I can gather publishers are not the easiest to deal with.

Would like to get a copy of the paper from British Poultry Science. You sent me a paper previously. I guess this one follows it on.

I was invited to prepare a paper on my researches concerning Asia and Pacific area by Professor Solheim of Asian Perspectives who is the Editor. It is a journal published by the University of Hawaii and relates to the History and Anthropology of the Pacific and Asian area.

I prepared a paper which I sent over to them. The answer was that a copy would be sent to an eminent palaeontologist in England for review and after some editing and rewriting it should be suitable for publication. This figures as you would be aware of my rambling style of writing would need some work on it to suit the format of a scientific journal. Hopefully however I will get my message across.

OK regarding the trip to Australia not materialising. Unfortunate but something may crop up in future years. I can’t see myself ever getting over to your side of the world as much as I would like to.

A chap who is a geneticist at a nearby poultry processing firm went to the UK late 1985. I gave him your address. Don’t know whether he made any contact with you.

Thank you for checking out the Barred information. I will pass the further info onto the chap who is working on them. I was aware of the fact the Cuckoo was a fast featherer. Some years ago Fred Jeffrey asked me to check on the Cuckoo Pekins here as regards the rate of fathering. I did this and found that they were fast featherers using Hutt as a reference.

Well Clive, must press on. Good to hear from again. We are coming up to winter here but it is very dry, in fact inland and further Northwest have had a drought.

All the best now.