
          Washington City Oct. [October] 22d 1847.

Respected Sir

Yours of the 8th inst. [instant] came duly to hand,
and had we not been busy housing our Greenhouse plants, I would 
have replied sooner.

I am very grateful indeed for the exertions you are making
to secure me a copy of the Botany of Freycinets voyage, and
I hope you will succees, the Copy belonging to the Expd. [Expedition] went down
I think in the Peacock, I am also much pleased to learn 
that Captain Wilkes has broached the subject of your
"taking all the plants of the Expd. [Expedition] and work them up."
this I view as the most judicious move he has yet made 
towards bringing the botany of the Expd. [Expedition] before the public.
And even, when I take in my mind a survey of the large
amount of material that would come before you, I then
can not see, wherein the difficulty of your undertaking the
work exists, particularly if assisted by such a distinguished
botanist as Dr. Gray, and at the same time, the necessary works
for reference he supplied you. And with regard as to
whether I would "as having with Dr. Pickering collected the 
most of the plants." be willing or having any objection to distinguished 
European Botanists receiving certain portions of it to work
up. In answer to which I would state, that any opinion of mine 
touching this point would avail little, particularly at head quarters.
        