SOLON ROBINSON, 1846 37 



is pronounced a humbug. I have myself experienced re- 

 lief from a medicinal application of cold water upon the 

 spine, for neuralgia ; but it is far from infallible. Your 

 recommendations of ablution as a preventive, ought to be 

 rigidly practised, and although I doubt its effect to drive 

 away "nine-tenths of the diseases" of the human family, 

 it might affect one-tenth, and would be so much clear 

 gain. 



Life in Prairie Land. — As you say the fair authoress 

 is an acquaintance of yours, and as you are a bachelor, 

 I am somewhat afraid to trust to your recommendation 

 without an endorser. If you had told us whether the 

 lady had been an actual dweller [she was] in the land 

 she describes, we could have formed a better judgment 

 of her ability to describe the wild scenery of that wild 

 country. 



French Cookery. — There is decidedly too much of it 

 already in this country for the health of the people. It 

 is a poor book to recommend to "plain farmers." Better 

 publish the manner of cooking, and style of living in New 

 England, when your worthy father was a youth there. 



The Trees of America. — I really hope this is just what 

 it should be, for upon no subject was a good standard 

 work more needed. Your remark that "the engravings 

 are executed with considerable skill," is such faint praise, 

 that I am induced to think they are not what they should 

 be. [They are very neatly and accurately done.] It is 

 one of the great beauties of Michaux's work upon the 

 same subject, that the engravings are superb. If by 

 some means the public mind of America cannot be in- 

 duced to preserve and cultivate forest trees, the day is 

 not far distant when we shall be as destitute of timber 

 as many parts of Europe, where the want of it is dis- 

 tressing. I suppose I must not say it should be the duty 

 of the United States government to plant and use groves 

 of timber upon the vast tracts of western prairie land, 

 lest some politician should tell me that "that was not the 

 legitimate business of government," but "should be left 

 to individuals," and therefore never accomplished. 



