March, 1914.] Dow : JOHX Af.BOT. 71 



From John Abbott to Dr. T. W. Harris. 



Bulloch County. Georgia Aug'st 30, 1835 

 To Dr. Thaddeus William Harris 

 K Dear Sir 



After having entirely given over all hopes of having the pleasure of hear- 

 ing from v'ou, I was agreeably surprized in receiving on the 23d. last, the 

 favor of yours of the nth. Feb'y last, a delay I cannot account for 



In reply to your request at what 

 price I sell my collections of Insects, my usual price is 6 dollars per hundred 

 large & small rare & common, My charge to Mr. Le Conte for my Drawings 

 & for whom I continue to draw for every Year, the size of which I have 

 figured at the end of this Letter, is .16 for a dollar, they mostly are small 

 Insects, & many are Minutia, & if small & will shew better, something magni- 

 fied, he must be in possession of .2 or 3000, of them if the size of the paper 

 & the Insect requires it, a larger price in proportion, 25 cents, but never ex- 

 ceeding 50 cents. 



I shall complete this Autumn my collections of Insects & set of drawings, 

 & next Spring can contract with You for both, if You think proper, in the 

 mean time, You can send me word, what particular Insects you want, and 

 what Order or Genus You wou'd prefer to have drawn, to begin with, or if 

 only the most rare, or more generally as I meet with them and what size 

 paper, as I suppose you wou'd desire them to be uniform, Mr. Le Conte pre- 

 fered a single Insect on a paper, as he said he cou'd then class them as he 

 received them. 



I have not been able yet to assertain the difference between the Larva of 

 the Grantor & green Shinx, the color of both is sometimes green, & sometimes 

 claret colored, & both feed on other plants besides Grape, I have only ob- 

 served that the Grantor is much more rare than the other. The severe cold 

 last Winter, must certainly have killed many in the Woods, as it did all I had 

 in Chrysalis in the house, & I have never yet observed both Shinxes & Larva's 

 so rare as this last Summer, I have therefore had no opportunity to make any 

 further observation, Le Conte insists they are one Species 



I have 

 only as yet met with but 2 of the Larva you mention to be found in rotten 

 wood, they both died, without changing, I can't say what kind they produce, 

 I have figured the last I met with from a sketch I have yet by me, it looked 

 in a dark room its whole length like a brilliant diamond It was of a color & 

 size of the drawing 



I find it very difficult to know what Insects are rare & what are common,, 

 except a very few kinds, & they perhaps are not to be found all over the State. 

 Some Years ago I met with a plenty, (then only) in a small Swamp field, the 

 (Colias philodice) since which I have not seen one any where. 



Every Year I have observed some few kinds to be plenty, if not common 

 & then not to be met again with, for some years after some few kinds, I 

 reckioned common 3 or 4 years ago, I can't meet with a single one now some 

 plenty on one side of a Creek, & none on the other 



