With regard to his pigeons, Darwin wrote, in November 1855: "I love them to that extent that I cannot bear to kill and skeletonise them.") P.S .-- I do not know whether you will think this worth reading over.

I have worked it out since writing my letter, and tabulate the whole.
21 orders with 1 genus, having 7.95 species (or 4.6 ?).
29 orders with 2 genera, having 15.05 species on an average.
23 orders each with 3 genera, and these genera include on an average 8.2 species.
20 orders each with 4 genera, and these genera include on an average 12.2 species.
27 orders each with above 50 genera (altogether 4716 genera), and these genera on an average have 9.97 species.
From this I conclude, whether there be many or few genera in an order, the number of species in a genus is not much affected; but perhaps when [there is] only one genus in an order it will be affected, and this will depend whether the [genus] Erythroxylon be made a family of.
LETTER 44.

TO J.D.HOOKER.

Down, April 8th [1856].
I have been particularly glad to get your splendid eloge of Lindley.

His name had been lately passing through my head, and I had hoped that Miers would have proposed him for the Royal medal.