Hilgard, Eug. W. 

 1866 t August 19th 

 Oxford, Miss. 



TRANSLATION 



Oxford, Miss. August 19th, 1866. 



Dear Doctor, 



It is awful that I have not yet answered your letter of May; on the other 

 hand, I did everything possible with regard to your wishes concerning the grapes. 

 But I have to tell you that in this vicinity there are only few varieties. I can 

 only distinguish two, namely: V. aestivalis and V. cordifolia , Michx. (the riparia^ 

 as I told you told you before) according to Darby f s description; Leaves always 

 glabrous, never pubescent, racemes very loose . Then I saw at Pearl River near Jackson 

 a Vitis which flowered later than even V. aestivalis ; the great difference between 

 Oxford and Jackson, three weeks af er V. cordifolia teacr* here— and I saw it in its 

 first bloom l*f days after the last V. cordifolia lost its flowers here. Racemes closely 

 packed, the leaves "petiolis, margis & veras pubescent". But you will see the 

 species number, hit I don't know whether I shall be able to collect fruits of the 

 latter species. It would probably be Michx' V. riparia . 



Thanks for the Transactions of the St. Louis Academy; which by the way exists 

 mostly of your contributions. However, Shumard's catalogue is valuable as a aratepiix 

 compilation. 



Some times this fall, I intend to send you and my brother a pack of plants from 

 southern Mississippi for determination. I have nowan assistant who is much interested 

 in botany and who will probably contribute more every year; for this year we have 

 money to go into the field. It is very probable that I might give 1 my connection with 

 the Survey completely, for many reasons; I should prefer to become professor of 

 chemistry, however many complications are in the way. Can you tell me something about 

 the famous chemist Dr. Maugh of ika S t . Louis who is a very militant candidate 

 against me. He might be a good physician, but to declare himself an expert in 

 chemistry when chemistry has to be studied in all its aspects, seems to toe a little 

 baroque for somebody who besides in his medical college is not known adi a chemist at 



all. But he is an Army man that is the whole joke. Tell me what you know about him. 



In case of my resignation, my assistant would become chief; he is a good man, Ph. D. 

 from Gottingen where he was a student of Wohler's. 



Could you give me some information about the sbkx so-called pepny royal oil as 

 it is called commercially, namely whether it is derived from Menth/a pulegium 

 or Hedeoma pulegioides . The oil from the latter is entirely different from the one 

 derived from Mentha; I am working on it for some time and intend to publish an article 

 about it in a few months. I have been unable to obtain an authentic sample of the oil 

 commercially. 







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