324 JOHN BARTRAM TO [1742. 



ber any of jour succeeding letters take any notice of your receiving 

 it. In it was an account of the Sesamum, &c. 



I am sincerely 



Your obliged friend and servant, 



M. Catesbt. 



April 15, 1746. 



JOHN BARTRAM TO ALEXANDER CATCOT. 



May 26, 1742. 



Respected Friend : 



I have now before me thy two kind letters of February the 2d, 

 and March the 13th. I am well pleased those seeds I collected 

 for thee were acceptable. 



I find by thy letter, thee supposes I was born in England ; but 

 I assure thee I was born in Pennsylvania, and never have been 

 out of sight of land since ; and I believe have taken more pains 

 after the study of Botany, and the operations of nature, than any 

 other that was born in English America, notwithstanding my low 

 fortune in the world, which laid me under a necessity of very hard 

 labour for the support of my family ; having now a wife and seven 

 small children, whose subsistence depends on the produce that is 

 raised on my farm, which is situate on a navigable river, near 

 Philadelphia. But I have had, ever since I was twelve years of 

 age, a great inclination to Botany and Natural History ; but could 

 not make much improvement therein, for want of books, or other 

 instructions, until I entered into correspondence with my good 

 friend Peter Collinson, who engaged, first, Lord Petre, then, 

 Philip Miller, and the Dukes of Richmond and Norfolk, to sub- 

 scribe thirty guineas, in order to enable me to travel into Mary- 

 land, Virginia, New Jersey, and York Government, to search for 

 forest seeds, roots, and plants, to adorn their gardens, and other 

 apartments where they thought proper to dispose of them. They 

 have also sent me varieties of roots and seeds for my garden, and 

 several books for my instruction. 



To my friends, Doctor Dillexius and M. Catesby, I sent my 

 observations on such things as will be proper materials to assist 

 them in composing their fine histories, for which they promised 

 me one of their books. 



Sir Hans Sloane desired I would send him some curiosities, 



