Cadwallader Colden with Pete?' Collinson, fyc. 115 



able to acknowledge the favor of yours of May 5th, with 



your printing and botanic schemes inclosed. 



You will expect I should give you some account of your curi- 

 ous manuscript. I cannot do this to my liking. Our people are 

 so wretched mercenary, that they are unworthy of it. It is 

 now in the hands of an honest, ingenious printer, (if I am not 

 mistaken,) and in my next you will hear more from me. I am 

 persuaded it will meet with approbation from the public ; but the 

 way to introduce it is through such wretched, narrow spirited 

 creatures, who are wholly governed by interest, that it is really 

 discouraging for an ingenious man to set pen to paper, if the 

 common good did not counterbalance all other considerations. 



I shall at my leisure consider your botanic essays. As to your 

 printing scheme, a printer that is esteemed a knowing man and 

 of great business, gives this answer to it, for it is out of my pro- 

 vince. He says your scheme has been tried long ago by good 

 hands, but was found to be expensive and inconvenient in many 

 respects, and at no rate will do for any thing else but bibles, 

 prayer-books, &c., and even in them it is very difficult; for alter- 

 ations are not easily made, though the author of the scheme 

 thinks otherwise. And as to authors, it would be a discourage- 

 ment to them ; for this method would at least cost them as much 

 as printing a thousand copies in the common way. For the com- 

 posing is the chief part of the expense, the press- work only com- 

 ing to a trifle. It would be easy to convince any person of the 

 impracticability of the thing, and the vast expense that would 

 attend it, by a few minutes' conversation. 



Now, my dear friend, I confide in your humane and candid 

 disposition to excuse me from adding further, but that I am your 

 obliged and affectionate friend, P. Cqllinson. 



Extract from a draft of a letter from Dr. Colden to Mr. Collin- 

 son (without date) in reply to the above. 



"It seems that I have the misfortune to trouble you with dis- 

 coveries which 1 thought my own, which have been tried by 

 others before. This is owing to my knowing so little of what 

 passes in the world. I must own, however, that a few years 

 since I read in one of the London newspapers that a new method 

 of printing was discovered, which it was thought would be of 

 use in the advancement of learning, and a particular benefit to 



