174 FIRST JOURNEY IN EUROPE. [1839, 



to go to Jussieu to-morrow, but Webb has made an 

 appointment with me to see Dr. Montagne (muscolo- 

 gist, etc.) and his microscope, which is one of the 

 latest and best of Chevalier, and will enable me to 

 decide if I may venture upon one for Sullivant. 



On Saturday Decaisne told me, almost by acci- 

 dent, that he was to do the Asclepiadese for De Can- 

 dolle's " Prodromus," at the same time showing me a 

 paper of his on the family that I was unacquainted 

 with, much to his surprise, but he at once gave me a 

 copy. You must know, that although I knew no- 

 thing scarcely of this family when I left you, and now 

 know little as to general structure, yet I pride myself 

 a little on my researches in extricating the synonymy 

 of the species in London, in Herbarium Linnaeus, 

 Hort. Clift., Herbarium Gronovius, Banks, Walter 

 and Pursh, and here of Michaux. Accordingly on 

 Monday (yesterday) Decaisne and myself had a regu- 

 lar examination of all the species we could find here, 

 and I furnished him with aU my notes upon the 

 synonymy, and left with him those I had with me 

 from your herbarium, to be returned to London in 

 September next. Decaisne has been with me also all 

 this evening. 



I find that very many of the pamphlets we have 

 sent from time to time have miscarried, particidarly 

 the copies of my " Ceratophyllacese," sent by Castil- 

 neaux, and, what is mortifying, Guillemin and Jus- 

 sieu received copies, but Brongniart and Decaisne 

 none. I have just sent my only remaining copy 

 here (for you sent me none) to Brongniart,^ with 

 an explanation. 



1 Adolphe Theodore Brongniart, 1801- 1876 ; distinguished French 

 botanist, more especially in fossil hotany ; professor of hotany at the 

 Jardin des Plantes. 



