BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 633 
You will probably soon see Mr. Preiss in London, for he 
left this country in the * Elizabeth." He speaks of having 
3,000 different species; and the last time I saw him, he said, 
* What will Dr. Lindley think when he is told that there are 
4,000 distinct plants at Swan River?" Now I do not be- 
lieve that more than half that number can be found within 
one hundred miles of the Swan; but time will prove. I 
shall have the honour of addressing you from Guildford 
when I make up my seeds; and am, &c., 
James DRUMMOND. 
Hawthornden Farm, Toodjay Valley, 
April 17, 1842. 
Since writing to you a long letter on the subject of plants 
a few days since, I have received your kindly sent Journal of 
Botany, and offer you many thanks for it. 
Several months ago, when we instituted the Eig 
on the subject of the poisonous plants in this country, I 
chanced to breakfast with a Mr. Slade; when, Mrs. S. 
being a Scotchwoman, a delicious sort of jelly was brought to 
the table, after the true Caledonian fashion. This jelly 
differed from anything I had tasted before of the sort, and 
Irs. Slade informed me was made from a sort of sea- 
weed, that is thrown up abundantly on the beach near Free- 
mantle. So, knowing that you feel an interest in productions 
of this kind, I requested my hostess to inform me how the 
Jelly is prepared ; and, with her permission, I enclose her 
note on the subject, together with the specimens that accom- 
panied it. I have myself observed this sea-weed lying in 
great quantities as far to the north and south as I have visited 
the coast, and can entertain no doubt that an acquaintance 
with its properties might often prove the means of saving the 
lives of shipwrecked mariners and others: Captain Grey's 
Party, for instance, nearly the whole of whom were almost 
Starved; while one unha gentleman, Mr. Frederick 
Smith, a most talented person, actually perished of want, as 
there is too much reason to suppose, with abundance of the 
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