58 EARLY UNDERTAKINGS. [1836, 



for the trouble you have taken in naming the set of 

 mosses, and especially for the beautiful parcel of 

 British mosses you were so good as to send me, which 

 were truly welcome. All British plants are so, as 

 I have next to none in my herbarium ; but nothing 

 could be more acceptable than such a complete and 

 authentic suit of the mosses of your country. 



As to the Sandwich Island plants, I hardly know 

 what to say. Supposing they might be of some use 

 to you in connection with other collections, I copied 

 the brief notes I made on studying them very hur- 

 riedly indeed, and placed them at your disposal. I 

 did not possess sufficient means for determining them 

 in a satisfactory manner, and fear I have committed 

 errors in many cases. You will doubtless detect these 

 at once, and if, on the whole, you think proper to pub- 

 lish them in the " Companion to the Botanical Maga- 

 zine," may I ask you to revise the paper, and freely 

 make such corrections and alterations as you think 

 proper. In that case, if you think the notes worthy 

 of publication, I should not object ; yet you are equally 

 at liberty to use them in any other way. The parcel 

 contained a specimen of a Composita (from Mouna 

 Kea) which puzzled me extremely, and I was unable 

 to ascertain its genus by Lessing. The anthers are 

 free, or slightly coherent, in all the flowers I examined. 

 Since the parcel was transmitted to you I have seen a 

 specimen of Rhus (from Sandwich Islands) resem- 

 bling the one in the parcel, except in having pubescent 

 leaves. The latter is therefore improperly charac- 

 terized, and perhaps will prove to be a well-known 

 species. I shall hope to receive other and more com- 

 plete specimens from Mr. Diell, and if I am so fortu- 

 nate will gladly share with so esteemed a correspond- 



