12 THE HISTORY OF AITON's ' HORTUS KEWENSIS ' 



the Linnean mode, adopted in the specific characters, is not very readily 

 understood, and certainly not at all by Willdenow ; such as it is how- 

 ever it has been carefully attended to both by Mr. Dryander and myself. 

 If you do not feel quite satisfied in being able to manage this I will 

 either endeavour to explain it to you as well as I am able or in any 

 doubtful case which you may point out, am of course ready to give my 

 assistance. 



" Permit me my Dear Sir to conclude this long letter by assuring you 

 that if any circumstance should interfere with your present plan, or if, 

 which I trust will not happen, the state of your health should render it 

 advisable for you to go to Cheltenham sooner than you at present intend 

 you will find me perfectly ready and at the shortest notice to resume my 

 function in so far as correcting the press is concerned. Thus even my 

 Scotch journey, which is not yet determined upon would not materially 

 interfere with as I dare say I could have the proofs sent to me. 



" With best Compliments to the Ladies and sincerest wishes for your 

 speedy recovery, 



"I remain. My Dear Sir, 



Very truly and affectionately yours, 



E. Brown." 

 " My Dear Sir, 



" I am favoured with your kind & cordial letter, it has affected 

 my heart with gratitude & demands my warmest thanks. 



" I am afraid I expressed myself in too many words, when I open'd 

 my design upon the pine of Chili, all my object upon this subject has 

 been, that this very superb tree, the food of Nations, may be erected 

 through its english name into a living & lasting monument of respect to 

 Sir Joseph Banks. I was most certainly very ill when I committed 

 myself to you upon this & other points, & altho I now find I am a little 

 better I do not warrant myself sufficiently so, to attend upon you to- 

 morrow evening, do therefore allow that our meeting in Soho Square 

 may stand over till to-morrow sennight when, if I go on well I trust I 

 shall be able to offer you my regards with more cheerful confidence than 

 I am at present able to do, in the meantime I pray you will feed the 

 press, & allow me to request you will keep in your possession till after 

 our next meeting all the remaining copy, to which your letter refers as I 

 am sincerely aware I have much to learn, before I presume to receive 

 from your hands for the press, the unprinted part of Hort. Kew. 



" Believe me Dr. Sir with great regard. 



Ever Yours most truly, 

 " Kew, 13 July, 1813." W. T. Aiton." 



The actual preparation of the second edition for press was the 

 work of Richard Cunningham, who was employed by W. T. Aiton 

 as his amanuensis from 1808 to 1832. A portion of the MS. 

 (ii. 332 to end, iii. to p. 362) was acquired by the Kew Herbarium 

 Library in 1881 ; this is in R. Cunningham's hand, and consists 

 of a transcript of the first edition with numerous additions, with 

 intercalated slips of further additions transcribed probably by a 

 clerk under Dryander's direction. The MS. appears to be that 

 which was actually sent to the printer ; the occasional discre- 

 pancies between it and the printed copy — e. g. in the limita- 

 tions of Cucuhalus and Silene — may be accounted for by the 

 supposition that these represent corrections in proof. Occasional 



