Buchenau, Dr. F. 
1865, September 9th 
Bremen, Germany 
TRANSLATION 
Dear Doctor, 
I was much surprised to receive your shipment of plants which you sent me 
through Nr. Ad. Meier jun. I had already convinced myself that my request for 
specimens would not be fulfilled by such a busy physician and such an active 
representative of the natural sciences in St. Louis. Therefore, I certainly 
treasure the plants you sent me. Please accept my warmest thanks! Everything 
was very interesting to me and without any exception new for my herbarium, even though 
I have worked on some of them at Prof. Braun's. The material before me again con- 
firms my belief that the sex is of minor value with regard to the generic separation 
within the family of the Alismaceae. Of North American Al. and Najadaceae I am 
only lacking Potam, Tuckermanni, pauciflorus, pauciflorus var. njiagarensis, 
Potam. lucens, Echinodorus rostratus and radicans. Furthermore, of course, 
my American Juncus species are very incomplete. 
I hawe not written this letter to go with the previous steamer, since 1 
was waiting for Braun's reply concerning your shipment. Last Sunday I received 
a few lines from him which he has written starting out on a trip to Switzerland. 
Unfortunately, he has aged physically very much during the last years; many 
illnesses of his children and the death of his son did not go by without leaving 
some traces. He had to stop his lectures this summer for many weeks because of 
a throat illness, but now he seems to feel better--his mind is active as ever and 
rich with a broad knowledge, also friendly and helpful. We younger ones love him 
as if he were our own father. 
I am sorry that you did not express any wishes with regard to collections 
you would like to receive. Don't you wish to receive any German plants? I should 
do everything I can to satisfy you, and ask you to believe this as not being a 
polite phrase. I don't wish to impose on you with further reauests for plants; 
however, should you ever have a young man there who would like to enter into 
an exchange shipments with Germany, I shall be glad to comply with this providing 
he would take care of my special requests. 
From the Smithsonian Institution I have not received anything for a long 
time and, of course, also not your papers which you were kind enough to send me. 
However, I thank you very much for sending them. Some months ago, I wrote to 
Mr. Ad. Meier and asked him whether he could obtain for us the publications of your 
Society (Academy) which are missing here completely, among many other things»: 
