12 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



tal, Torrey, Elliot, Schvveinitz, and my own . , , 

 now either deposited in public institutions, or 

 accessible to all. Torrey and myself at any 

 rate, are ever ready to communicate with Bo- 

 tanists, answer enquiries, or solve difficulties. 

 Botanical compilations are most useful when 

 they include all the previous plants ; but our 

 American Compilers are always deficient, be- 

 cause they neglect through various motives to 

 collect all the published information ; thus the 

 plants of Bartram, Lewis, Robin, Castiglione, 

 Brickell, Bosc <^c with my own, have often been 

 omitted. 



The best Herbals or Collections of our floras, 

 are besides mine,those of Torrey in New York, 

 Elliot in Charleston, Beck in Albany, Bigelow 

 in Boston, Short in Lexington .... Those of 

 Nuttal, Schweinitz, Baldwin, and Muhlenberg 

 are preserved in Philadelphia, chiefly at the 

 Academy of Natural Sciences. My friend Du- 

 rand is now collecting here an extensive Amer- 

 ican Herbal. That of Collins was very val-^ 

 uable, and is now added to mine. Others less 

 rich in species are scattered chiefly in Boston, 

 New Haven, New York, Baltimore, Charleston, 

 Columbia, Washington, New Orleans, Cincin- 

 nati &c. But some families of Plants are very 

 rare in these Herbals, not being easily preserv- 

 ed, such as Palms, Yucas, Cactides, Fungides. 



Few are aware how difficult it is to collect 

 an extensive American Herbal with many rare 

 plants ; those made in limited localities or gar- 

 dens are easy enough to acquire ; and they are 

 useful to students ; but Herbals of all the States 

 and Regions for the learned, with notes, re- 

 marks, compared foreign specimens . . . are ac- 

 quired only by many years of travels and re- 



