l837.] THE JOUl^NAL. 253 



good deal of interest in my collections. I mean to-morrow 

 to see Mr. Yarrell ; if he approves, I shall begin and take 

 more active steps ; for I hear he is most prudent and most 

 wise. It is scarcely any use speculating about any plan, but 

 I thought of getting subscribers and publishing the work in 

 parts (as long as funds would last, for I myself will not lose 

 money by it). In such case, whoever had his own part ready 

 on any order might publish it separately (and ultimately the 

 parts might be sold separately), so that no one should be de- 

 layed by the other. The plan would resemble, on a humble 

 scale, Ruppel's ' Atlas,' or Humboldt's ' Zoologie,' where 

 Latreille, Cuvier, &c., wrote different parts. I myself should 

 have little to do with it; excepting in some orders adding 

 habits and ranges, &c., and geographical sketches, and per- 

 haps afterwards some descriptions of invertebrate ani- 

 mals .... 



I am working at my Journal ; it get's on slowly, though I 

 am not idle. I thought Cambridge a bad place from good 

 dinners and other temptations, but I find London no better, 

 and I fear it may grovy^ worse. I have a capital friend in 

 Lyell, and see a great deal of him, which is very advanta- 

 geous to me in discussing much South American geology. I 

 miss a walk in the country very much ; this London is a vile 

 smoky place, where a man loses a great part of the best en- 

 joyments in life. But I see no chance of escaping, even for 

 a week, from this prison for a long time to come. I fear it 

 will be some time before we shall meet ; for I suppose you 

 will not come up here during the spring, and I do not think 

 I shall be able to go down to Cambridge. How I should 

 like to have a good walk along the Newmarket road to- 

 morrow, but Oxford Street must do instead. I do hate the 

 streets of London. Will you tell Henslow to be careful with 

 the edible fungi from Tierra del Fuego, for I shall want some 

 specimens for Mr. Brown, who seems particularly interested 

 about them. Tell Henslow, I think my silicified wood has 

 unflintified Mr. Brown's heart, for he was very gracious to me, 

 and talked about the Galapagos plants ; but before he never 



