
          Recd. [Received] Decr [December] 10.
Ansd. [Answered] 11th.

Eagle Pass Nov. 15. 1852

Dear Sir.

I received a few days ago two letters
from Mr. Wright dated Octo [October] 4th & 7th. He had
not yet seen you but expected to do so in a very
short time. He informs me that Dr. Gray is
"down" on him every now & then in consequence of
his bringing home large quantity of trash supposed
by us to be "bran new" and then frequently not
getting enough of really interesting plants. Dr. Gray
may in some measure thank himself for this state of 
things. In Pl. [Plantae] Wright. [Wrightianae] for instance the names of
a great many plants occur which are new to the 
American world at least and which are only enumerated; 
references being made for descriptions 
&c to some European publication, none having been
made in an American book. Well now how
are we away off in the woods or mountains
with a scarcity even of American books to determine
what has been collected heretofore by each
other. I would defy Mr. Wright himself in
many instances to point out his own baultering.
Now Pl. [Plantae] Wright. [Wrightianae] would be much more valuable
for reference if a short diagnostic description
were appended to every plant not described in
your Flor [Flora] of N. [North] A. [America] or some other American work,
even if it had been previously described in European
        