Cadwallader Colden with Peter Collinson, fyc. 123 



only one half of our religious duty, contained in Christ's first 

 command to his disciples. It is properly the speculative part of 

 religion which fits us for, and incites us to the practical part, or 

 obedience to his second command, that of loving our neighbor as 

 ourselves. The practice of the second command gives no less 

 pleasure to a good man than the speculations of the first. You 

 have a great deal, sir, in your power ; that of being useful to 

 almost one half of the world, to all America. We are very 

 poor in knowledge, and very needy of assistance. Few in Amer- " 

 ica have any taste of botany, and still fewer, if any of these, 

 have ability to form and keep a botanical garden, without which 

 it is impracticable to give complete characters of plants. In 

 short, I may positively assert, that not one in America has both 

 the power and the will for such a performance. Such a work is 

 necessary ; it will be a lasting benefit to mankind. It has all 

 the motives to it which can incite a good man to any perform- 

 ance attended with trouble. I am sensible how much your time 

 is taken up with business. But at the same time, I cannot doubt 

 of your obtaining assistance from curious persons, perhaps much 

 at leisure. I told Mr. Bartram of the design I have of entreating 

 you : he was exceedingly pleased with it, and promises all the 

 assistance in his power. # * * How much labor, and how 

 many valuable collections in botany, more than in any other 

 science, have been lost to the world by delay, and an endeavor 

 of the author to complete his work before it appeared in public. 

 I shall not presume to give my thoughts on any particular of the 

 method to be observed in this work, because I have but a very 

 superficial knowledge in botany ; I shall only say, that I wish it 

 to be in English, though I know that it is more difficult to do it 

 in this language than in Latin. To encourage you in this, I en- 

 close a description in English of two American plants, not as pat- 

 terns, but to convince you what may be done, if I, who have so 

 little skill in botany, have been able to make them tolerable. 

 One of them I have for many years taken notice of as one of 

 the signs of a fertile soil ; but of late I cannot pass it without 

 paying a particular regard to it. The reason of my choosing the 

 other will appear in the description of it. But to return to the 

 reasons I have for desiring your work in English: — 1st. We have 

 nothing in botany tolerably well done in English, so far as I 

 have seen. 2d. It will thereby be more useful in America, 



