
          Washington City. Septr [September] 17th/50 [1850]

My dear Sir.

Yours of August 28th with a note 
of the 14th came duly to hand. I confess that I 
ought to have answered the same long before this 
time, and I only delayed doing it from day to
day, with the expectation that the box of Cacti, which 
you mentioned your Nephew had been directed 
to forward to me might arrive, so that I 
might be able to give you an account of its contents; 
and so far as I can learn it has not 
yet reached our City; this I regret, as the plants 
in it might spoil, which would be a pity.

The large bundle of manuscript reached me 
safe, and as my time then was very much taken 
up otherwise, I kept it by me a little over 
one week, then returned it to the Printer, 
Your remarks and corrections I liked very 
much, and feel a thousand times obliged to you 
or the pains you have taken to purge my bad 
English; [crossed out: illegible] You willd perceive when the Copy is 
returned to you, that I have adopted almost 
all of your corrections; and your lists in 
pencil I profited by, but could not well 
adopt the whole; and one of those which I could 
not with consisteancy entertain, was touching a 
species of Polybotrya, the fertile fronds of which
        